


The Disciples of Marda-B

by Golbez



Category: Battle B-Daman
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anime/Manga Fusion, Boyfriends, Dream World, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, M/M, Marda-PTSD, Mental Health Issues, Meowlantians Did It, POV Third Person, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golbez/pseuds/Golbez
Summary: Enjyu and Yamato go on a little trip around the B-daworld and arrive at Meowtra Temple.Of course, with these two, it was impossible for it to be a simple vacation.
Relationships: Enjyu/Yamato Delgato
Kudos: 4





	1. You Have But Slumbered Here I - if we shadows have offended

The idea for the trip had come from Gray, in an offhand comment about Yamato having never traveled with Enjyu.

Yamato had jumped right on it, because there was never a time like the present, and an hour later he was out the door, two backpacks in one hand, other around Enjyu's wrist and dragging him along. Much to the older boy's protests, of course.

"Ugh, what the hell is this about?" Enjyu had tried prying an answer from both him and Tommi, but the most he got was that they were "going on an adventure!" together.

Enjyu loathed to admit it, but a week later, as they walked hand-in-hand into Waterville and the port town's bustling hit him, there was no denying this _had_ been a pretty good idea. For starters, a week of traversing the country with only his boyfriend, his boyfriend's cat, a backpack, and not a single world-ending pressure or responsibility had turned out to be fun.

"We made it just in time!" announced Yamato, letting go of him to rush past Waterville's great arch, toward the city proper.

Enjyu caught up with a short jog. "In time for what?"

"Our ship should be leaving in...a day maybe?" answered Yamato, looking up to him with a beam, "You know, I was worried we wouldn't make it when Vinnie and our fans held us up, but we've got plenty of time!"

Enjyu winced, remembering the crowds at Winners City. Somehow, in the span of the two days it had taken them to travel from Cowtoon and Saitoon, word had gotten around that the champion and runner-up were traveling together. They'd had the same issues in their other stops along the way to Waterville, but those hadn't been as bad as the impromptu press events they'd gotten caught up in.

"Yeah, no, we're going round south on our way back," he said, "Like hell are we dealing with that _again_...wait, did you say ship?"

But Yamato had raced off into the town already, Tommi at his side, leaving Enjyu to hurry after him with a sinking feeling in his chest. He'd never been on a boat before, after all.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

**TONIGHT ONLY!**

WINNERS TOURNAMENT CHAMPION  
**YAMATO DELGATO & COBALT SABER**  
VS  
WINNERS TOURNAMENT RUNNER-UP  
**ENJYU & BLAZING KAHN**

EXHIBITION B-DABATTLE!  
AT THE MEOWLANTIS B-ARENA

FREE ADMISSIONS (LIMITED SEATING)  
FOOD AND DRINK FROM OUTSIDE THE ARENA ARE NOT PERMITTED ON ARENA GROUNDS  
THIS EVENT IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE WINNERS TOURNAMENT

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Enjyu yawned, letting Yamato lead the way along the well-maintained dirt path through the island's jungle. Meowlantis Island was _different_ from anything he was used to, and the air here was far more humid than that of anywhere he'd lived before.

"Aren't you a sleepyhead," remarked Yamato, turning to walk backwards so he could tease Enjyu. Tommi clung to his head, bobbing along as they continued down the path. "Even after that big breakfast, too."

"And who exactly was it that kept me up last night, mister 'let's go again,' hmm?" said Enjyu with a smirk, thinking back fondly to the _exertions_ they'd gotten up to the previous night. A strange combination of the high from their exhibition match, the ambience in the hotel room given to them, and just being away from everyone had made for a...satisfying night between the two of them. "Not to mention that was _after_ our battle."

Said battle had been a surprise to Enjyu, because apparently Yamato had made this whole trip possible by leveraging their combined fame. Enjyu hadn't minded though, embracing the chance for what had felt like a public, high-stakes battle for the first time since they'd saved the world.

Yamato only laughed nervously in response, his face flushed red. "W-well, you weren't the only one who stayed up, but you don't see me complaining." With that, he sped off the down the path at a quicker pace.

With a grin, Enjyu followed, silently claiming victory in this conversation. Despite dating each other for some time now and despite how eager Yamato was for their evening activities, the younger boy still seemed to find it awkward when Enjyu casually and freely talked about said evening activities.

When he caught up to Yamato again, it was at the end of the path, and Yamato was smiling brightly at him as he stepped close enough to see what it was they had come here for.

"Welcome to Meowtra Temple," said Yamato.

Enjyu didn't gasp or _oooh_ in awe. He only blinked in surprise at the towering ruins before them, eyes wide as he took in the ancient architecture. The temple proper caught his gaze first, a marvel of stonework in a shape not unlike a certain cat familiar to them both, then came the imposing cat statues that lined the way forward as two rows of guards.

"I didn't know places like these existed," admitted Enjyu, suddenly aware of a gap in his knowledge of the B-daworld. He'd known of Meowlantis Island and had been vaguely aware of some ancient history, but he'd never have imagined ruins like these that still stood.

"I didn't either," said Yamato, nodding. Tommi hopped off his head and bounded along down the paved path, and Enjyu could tell that Yamato itched to chase after him, but the boy hung back and continued. "We—Gray, Terry, Bull and I—found it when we were looking for clues on defeating Marda-B. I thought I could show you the place before we spend the rest of our vacation in the resort."

Enjyu managed to avoid wincing at his mention of Marda-B, striding forward after Tommi instead, a signal to Yamato to start after him too. "It's...kinda cool," he said, pausing before one of the statues to read the inscription underneath. "'To all who walk this path, we who walked before welcome you.' Huh, real friendly there."

"Wait, you can read that?" Yamato bounded back over. "Gray could read it too, that's how we found our clue to go to Tsubakura City."

Enjyu paused.

"Wait, Yamato, I shouldn't know how to read that," he said, trying to rack his brain for some possible explanation. "It's some kind of ancient language, but...I kinda just know what it said and I don't know why." But even if he didn't know _why_ , Enjyu had a growing suspicion that it concerned a particularly terrible situation he longed to forget, and he didn't like where that thought was headed.

Yamato seemed to come to the same conclusion, his eyes widening. Then he shook his head. "Let's head back to the hotel, maybe this wasn't that great of an idea."

"No," said Enjyu, finding a curious resolve within himself. He wasn't one to run away, after all. "Let's go straight up to the temple."

"Enjyu, are you sure about this..." Yamato started, but Enjyu quickly cut him off.

"It's not that big of a deal," he said, "Look, Tommi wants to race you."

Tommi was indeed standing a short distance down the path, turned back to them with all his ususal poise. Yamato looked up at Enjyu with a smile that Enjyu could tell was still worn with worry, but a moment later he was off after Tommi. When Enjyu followed at a steady pace, he took care not to look at any of the statues again.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

They wandered through the temple interior almost aimlessly, Yamato warning Enjyu not to touch anything as they walked. Enjyu wondered what the reason behind _that_ was, but Yamato didn't seem interested in elaborating.

All things considered, the temple was a lot less interesting than either of them had hoped. Enjyu frowned as they rounded another corridor that was just more of the same bricks. It took only a moment of counting the turns they'd made to realize something was strange here.

"Wait," he said, stopping in his tracks. Yamato, Tommi on his shoulder, strode right past him, turning back to him a moment later. "This isn't right. We have to get back to the entrance."

The words were scarce out of his mouth when a wall rose between them, slamming into place with a loud creak and a thud.

"What the—" Enyju leapt back from it, alert. He could hear Yamato's yelling. "Yamato, I'm fine! I—"

A weight struck his mind, and Enjyu did not have time to resist before consciousness dropped away from him.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

"Oh good, you're up."

Enjyu blinked as he staggered out of his room. There was a curious haze on his mind, as though he could not grasp the world around him. He shook his head, trying to clear it.

He looked up to find the familiar sight of his father with his back turned to him— _there_ was that mess of dark hair and his broad shoulders, as he worked away and tinkered with some endless project. The only lasting impression he had of his father from throughout his childhood...

His father turned to face him, and Enjyu stared as his mind registered what he was seeing. They stood in a well-kept living room and kitchen, nothing like the rundown home he remembered. The sizzling sound of something nice cooking hit his ears, twining with a pleasant, mouth-watering scent. His father was gazing at him with concern, a spatula in one hand.

"Enjyu? You all right there, kid?" he asked.

"Yeah," Enjyu heard himself say, and he moved toward the dining table, where three chairs waited. Since when did his father cook? Since when did they have this nice _apartment?_ This nice _life?_ Something felt wrong...

His father set down a plate of fluffy pancakes before him, and started back toward the kitchen. "You all packed up? Yamato should be getting here soon."

Enjyu froze, fork halfway to his mouth.

Everything about this was wrong, his mind knew that, but...something about it felt just as right. He frowned, trying to remember just why.

Yamato. Something about Yamato.

The first time they met—

_I'm Enjyu, and I represent the—_

_I'm Enjyu, and I wanna be a B-dachampion one day._

_That's great! I'm Yamato and that's what I wanna do too. Hey, let's play together!_

A loud knocking filled the room, and Enjyu heard his father curse as he dropped something in the sink.

"Geez, when will that kid learn to use the doorbell?" he grumbled. "Enjyu, go let him in."

Excitement filled him, and Enjyu bounded over to the front door, pausing only before the mirror in their entryway to check how he looked. His blue hair was thankfully tamable today, framing an unscarred face.

For some reason, it felt like a big day. He took the moment to steel himself, before walking over to open the door.

"Hey Enjyu!" greeted Yamato as brightly as ever. He leapt into Enjyu's arms, holding on tight and rubbing one cheek against his. Enjyu grinned in return at the familiar greeting.

"Hey buddy," he said, easily holding onto Yamato. He reached up to pat the younger boy's head. "You look ready to get going."

"'Course I'm ready," Yamato all but shouted, "C'mon, get your bag, let's _go_!"

"Easy there," said Enjyu, letting Yamato down. "Tommi not with you?"

"In the car with my parents," answered Yamato. "You know, my dad's probably impatient to get us going."

"Yeah, I bet," said Enjyu, grinning. He grabbed his suitcase where it stood waiting in the entryway, called out a farewell to his dad, and then he and Yamato were on their way. He inhaled deeply, as any sense of wrongness disappeared. What had he been thinking? Of course this was right. This was _their_ childhood dream.

It was time to go to the Winners Tournament.


	2. You Have But Slumbered Here II - think but this, and all is mended

Yamato had yelled and pounded his fists on the wall, and then he'd picked himself up off the floor, wiped the tears off his face, took out Cobalt Saber, and started firing.

His shots glanced right off the wall before him. Yamato gritted his teeth and continued firing, his distress growing as each B-daball only bounced right off and left an unscratched brick wall. Enjyu had been cut off midsentence, and that only meant Yamato was uncertain what had happened on the other side.

He paused in firing, feeling resolve burn in his chest as he drew his arms back. "I'm coming for you, Enjyu," he called out, and, with a great push off all his power, he fired. " _Cobalt Power Blast!_ "

The B-daball shot forward with a trail of flames, this time embedding into the wall. Yamato stared at it, breathing heavily, and, thankfully, it was not a moment later when cracks formed around it and the entire wall crumbled.

The dust settled quickly, and he was left staring into an empty corridor. But...something didn't seem right. It was much longer than when they'd walked through there earlier, and a bright light shone in the distance.

"Looks creepy, huh Tommi," he said, looking down to his cat, "But we _have_ to find Enjyu. C'mon, let's go get my boyfriend back."

With a nod, Tommi sprung forward, and Yamato followed, keeping pace with him.

🔥🔥🔥

It wasn't long before they reached the source of the light: a great round room with multiple exits, and a domed ceiling that seemed to be made of sunlight. And at the center of the room...

"Enjyu!" shouted Yamato, running to the great red orb that hovered there. Enjyu floated within, eyes closed, unconscious. Yamato drew in a breath and glanced about, trying to find some way to free him. Would he have to destroy it with Cobalt Saber? That seemed...dangerous...

"You must be Yamato."

He whirled around, and came face to face with a hooded figure wearing a golden mask. Yamato staggered away, raising Cobalt Saber, as he recognized the eye engraved into the mask. Marda-B's eye, identical to the inscriptions on the statues outside the temple.

"We will not be battling," they said in a rather feminine voice.

Yamato kept Cobalt Saber raised and pointed at them, hearing Tommi hiss beside him. "Only if you release Enjyu right now," he demanded. "Let him out of that...that thing. That giant B-daball."

"That isn't possible," they answered, striding closer to it. "He can only be freed if he wakes from his dream."

"Dream?" Yamato lowered his blaster just enough to be less threatening. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Enjyu is not merely sleeping," they said, gesturing at the orb. "He dreams in a paradise of his own making. His deepest regrets, erased. His deepest desires, realized. What he could have been, had his life taken a different path. A world where he is...happy."

"Then how's he supposed to wake up?" Yamato looked to Enjyu, tracing his peaceful, smiling face with his gaze. What was his dream world like? What was _paradise_ for Enjyu...? A world where Marda-B had never existed? Or a world without him?

"If his ties to this world are true and strong," said the hooded figure, "Then perhaps he will realize the truth."

"Quit talking in riddles." Yamato strode closer to them, holstering Cobalt Saber. "So there's nothing you can do? Nothing _I_ can do? Is that what you're saying?"

A pause. "Yes."

"And if I break the stupid orb?"

"He may never wake up."

"Are you sure I can't get him out if I battle you?" he asked, squinting at them.

"Quite sure," they answered, "I have no control over the orb now that he is in there."

Yamato turned and stepped away from them, walking over to the orb. He fixed his gaze on Enjyu, thinking of everything they'd been through, everything they'd done together. From their start as enemies, to the barbs they'd traded, to their battles, to their distant friendship, to finding each other again...With a huff, Yamato sat down on the tiled floor, crosslegged, before the orb. Tommi bounded over and jumped into his lap, company that he appreciated by reaching down to scratch the cat's back.

"What are you doing?" asked the hooded figure.

"I'm going to wait," answered Yamato, not even sparing them a glance. "I don't trust you, but when Enjyu wakes up—and he _will_ —I'm going to be right here for him. And _then_ I'll take care of you."

🔥🔥🔥

"I just don't get it." Though he spoke softly, Yamato spotted his hooded companion turning toward him. He had no idea how long he'd been sitting here, and despite the sheer boredom, he'd held onto his resolve and managed to stay in his spot until his feet had fallen asleep and he'd had to make himself move. Tommi had long padded closer to the orb, curled up by it and was now sleeping soundly.

The hooded figure waited for him to continue.

"I just don't get it," he repeated, looking over to them, "Hoodie—I'm going to call you that from now on— _why?_ Why does Enjyu have to go through this?"

"Please do not call me that," said Hoodie.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" asked Yamato.

"No."

"Then Hoodie it is," he said, "Well? Why do this to Enjyu?"

The silence that followed stretched on uncomfortably. Yamato was starting to think he'd have to take out Cobalt Saber again when Hoodie finally spoke.

"This child, Enjyu..." they said, voice gentle for the first time, "His mind was held by Marda-B, was it not?"

Yamato perked up. There it was— _Marda-B_. He'd suspected from the eye on their mask that it all went back to Marda-B again. Despite how long it'd been, despite Marda-B's amicable parting with them, despite everything Yamato had poured into his friendships, especially with Enjyu...Marda-B still lingered over them all.

"Marda-B took everything from him," admitted Yamato, wincing at the memory. He'd already been forced to confront the thought today, when Enjyu had read the ancient words, but having to recall it so clearly almost made him wish he never asked. "But we got him back with B-energy and it's all fine because I defeated Marda-B. So what does he have to do with this?"

"...so it was you who made him whole again," said Hoodie. They sighed and came closer, turning their gaze down at Yamato. "This is a trial of the mind for those who wish to follow Marda-B's footsteps. Those who were claimed by Marda-B's power forever retain some of him in their soul. As Enjyu was so thoroughly changed by him at one point, the temple and I both saw potential in him and saw fit to begin the test."

Yamato was immediately on his feet. "Enjyu's not like that anymore!" he shouted, "He is _not_ going to follow in Marda-B's footsteps ever again! Enjyu can be mean when he wants to be, but he's a good person now and that's not changing. He's never going back."

And again, a long silence, as Hoodie turned away again and meandered off around the orb. Yamato stood his ground, glaring at them as they went.

"Your belief in him is admirable," they said, "If he has the resolve to be the person you believe him to be, then perhaps he shall wake."

Yamato glared, and glared, but nothing further was said, so he sat back down and once again kept his attention on Enjyu, watching for any sign at all of his scarred face stirring.

🔥🔥🔥

He had taken to lying down, curled up facing the orb with Tommi by him, when Hoodie, for the first itme, addressed him without being prompted.

"You care about him deeply," they said, breaking the silence.

Yamato watched Enjyu float from his spot on the floor. This wasn't how their vacation was supposed to go, and the waiting, the boredom, was starting to take a toll on him. He itched to do _something_ , to keep moving...and most of all, he wanted so badly to hear Enjyu's voice again.

"I love him," he said without hesitation.

In the months after Marda-B's defeat, Enjyu had weighed his options and bounced around the various towns and cities of the world trying to find a new place for himself. When he'd finally come to the Cat Cafe seeking Yamato out, he'd been alone for far too long. Yamato remembered how tense he'd been, how Enjyu had seemed so terrified of being turned away. But the Vincents had already settled in with him and Mie, and one more head in the cafe didn't matter. Besides, Enjyu had been family even before he'd come back to them, and Yamato had immediately begun spending all his time with him.

When he'd finallly reached up and kissed Enjyu for the first time while sitting with him on the Cat Cafe roof under a starry sky, it had felt several months long overdue.

Yamato blinked, realizing a shadow had fallen over him. He raised his head to find Hoodie standing by him, reaching out to touch the orb with one hand.

"I lied," they said, "There is another way to free him."

"I knew I couldn't trust you," said Yamato, sitting up. "Well, what is it? I'll do anything."

Hoodie slid their hand down the orb, creating a tear in its glossy surface. The shifting red substance inside didn't move, and neither did Enjyu, still floating within.

" _You_ must wake him," they said, "Join him and try to remind him of his reality from within. It will be difficult, but...if you love him so, then you have a chance."

He hopped up onto his feet, disturbing Tommi and startling the cat awake. Yamato reached down to pet him. "Hey Tommi," he said, "You keep an eye on Hoodie here for me, okay?"

He earned a meow for his instruction, and—

"Selene."

"What?" he looked up at his hooded companion.

"My name is Selene," they said, "You may call it from within the dream if you decide to abandon Enjyu to his paradise, and I shall free you from out here, but you will have only the one chance and you must be aware that you are dreaming. I can do this only for you."

"I won't need to say your name," said Yamato, grinning now. He could feel a fire reigniting within him. Even if Selene was still lying, this was still a _chance_. "I'll never abandon Enjyu. I didn't back then, and I never will."

"Good luck then," said Selene, gold mask glimmering red from the orb as they stepped aside.

Yamato strode to the tear, then paused. "Why are you helping now?"

"...I loved someone too," they said, "And I too waited for them, but I had not the resolve to save them on my own. I cannot bear to watch the same happen to you. Go."

It made its own sense, thought Yamato, and he gave her a firm nod of understanding. Then he was clambering up through the tear and into the orb. Suddenly he was weightless, and he only had enough time to reach out and wrap his arms around Enjyu and pull close to him before he dropped into slumber as well.


	3. You Have But Slumbered Here III - that you have but slumbered here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time for some fun dream AU stuff!

Enjyu had to admit that standing on stage in a line with other B-daplayers while the crowd roared on was intoxicating. He could hardly believe how quickly time had flown since the Winners Tournament had started, but here he finally was. Battle after battle had brought him here:

"—the elite eight!"

Vinnie V stood before them, working the crowd flawlessly. Enjyu found that he couldn't hold back the beginnings of a grin, even as he stared straight ahead while Vinnie V announced the matchups that would occur over the next two days.

His wasn't until later in the afternoon, but he didn't mind. Yamato's match was first, and that was enough excitement for him.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

"Well, well, Armada's star pupils going up against each other," said Ababa with a smirk. Enjyu stood with him on the sidelines, listening to Bull and Li chat while Wen was trying to catch the attention of the twins standing off on their own.

"He must be feeling pretty conflicted," said Enjyu. He glanced down at Ababa, "You should probably go to him. I'll hold the fort here."

Ababa scoffed, trying to look affronted for Enjyu's suggestion he offer his old friend some comfort, but the cat nodded anyway and started off toward Armada's side of the arena. Though their little B-daplayer school was split between the two teachers, there was little real animosity between any of them.

Enjyu took a moment to make sure Li, Bull, and Tommi were behaving before he casually wandered over to Wen, who was furiously trying to catch either twins' gaze with the most unsubtle side glances and waves possible.

"Hey, knock that off," he told Wen, who whirled around to face him. "Those two are probably all absorbed in their own world right now."

"Wh—Enjyu, stop sneaking up on me," said Wen, glaring at him.

Enjyu gazed at him impassively, then looked over to the twins serving as the objects of Wen's antics. Gray and Liena. Twin stars from Wintoon that had relentlessly battled their way through the tournament. Enjyu had tracked their impeccable progress with a constant feeling that he or Yamato would have to go up against one of them before the tournament was over.

"They just found out they're facing each other," Enjyu said, "I don't think they care about anyone else right now. Imagine if you had to face Li in your match."

Wen paused, then deflated and stepped back. "You're right, I'll leave them alone," he said, turning to Enjyu. "Hey, at least I don't have to imagine that when I've got to go up against _you_."

"If you ask nicely, I won't flatten you too much," he said with a grin. They had battled and trained often in the past few years, under Ababa's watchful eyes, but Enjyu had quickly outclassed him, despite starting later at their school.

"Oh, no way," countered Wen, "I'm never forgiving you if you even _think_ about going easy on me. I've earned my way to the elite eight."

Though Enjyu was certain they were still joking around, there was a fire to Wen's words that he knew better than to dismiss. Enjyu nodded, and Wen grinned back.

"Think Yamato and Terry are ready for this?" he asked, switching gears to the match ahead of them.

"Oh, heck yeah," answered Wen, "Those two are pumped, and...hey, wait, where's Yamato?"

Wen's observation came just in time, as Vinnie suddenly called out, "Our first elite eight match is about to start, but has anyone seen Yamato? If he's not here in the next minute, he'll be disqualified as a no-show!"

Enjyu frowned, trying to figure out where Yamato could be. He looked over to where Armada and Ababa were both beginning to panic. The sight might have been comical, if Enjyu's best friend wasn't missing. Tommi came over to him, prompting Enjyu to lean down and let him jump onto his shoulder. The cat's familiar weight was comforting.

"What's going on?" voiced Terry from where he stood waiting at the battlefield. He turned, and met Enjyu's gaze. "He was here just moments ago!"

Something had to be wrong. Yamato would never abandon a match.

"I'll go find him," Enjyu started to say, feeling Tommi's tail curl against his shoulder, when a peculiar noise from the entryway to the arena caught his attention.

"I'm _here!_ " It was Yamato, yelling as he ran onto the field waving his arms. He jumped over to the field, landing deftly on his side, and took out Cobalt Blade.

"Geez, laddie, you had me worried," said Terry.

"Woah, it's me and you, huh?" Yamato looked...strangely confused as he looked around at the arena. He seemed especially shocked when his eyes met Enjyu's but he quickly shook his head and turned back to the field. "Hey, Terry! I'm not gonna make this easy!"

Enjyu stopped paying attention to what Terry and Yamato went on to say as the match started. He found himself staring directly at Yamato all throughout, barely watching them as they began knocking down each other's pins. That sense of wrongness had returned, as he took in how focused Yamato's expression had become, how he seemed more...assured in what he was doing.

Something was different about him, but Enjyu wasn't sure what.

"And that's every pin down! Yamato's combination of rapid-fire and power shots sure made him the winner here today!"

🔥🔥🔥

This version of the Winners Tournament was _confusing_.

Yamato stepped away from the field, and immediately Wen came running to his side to clap him on the back. Li and Bull weren't far behind, striding up to congratulate both him and Terry for a great match.

Armada and Ababa came over _together_ , and it was strange to hear them both offer encouraging words to Terry.

He'd spotted Gray and Liena earlier, standing off on their own in the sidelines, but neither seemed interested in the little group forming around him.

Then there was Enjyu. He was dressed in a jacket rather than what Yamato was used to seeing him wear, and Tommi was sitting on his shoulder. His hair hung low around his ears and was _blue_ and he had no scar at all. Despite the commotion around him, despite trying to remind himself this was all just a dream, this wasn't real, Yamato found himself staring at Enjyu again.

Then Enjyu smiled and started toward him, and a string of impossible memories flashed through Yamato's mind.

Meeting each other in a big city, meeting each other's parents, playing with Tommi, attending a B-daplaying school together, coming to the Winners Tournament _together_ —

"Hey," said Enjyu, smiling brightly. "You did it."

"Yeah, I did," said Yamato, and with those words he forgot everything that made this situation wrong. He could see out the corners of his eyes the others stepping away to give him and Enjyu space. "But you still have to win your match, huh."

Enjyu snorted. "Yeah, well I'll be seeing you in the finals, I'm sure."

His words seemed to break some kind of spell in the arena, and Yamato grinned as Enjyu's statement kicked up a flurry of conversation with everyone around.

"Ababa, do you _ever_ teach _your_ students humility?" asked Armada aloud.

"Start with yours before getting on my case," was the answer to that.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Things were fine. Everything was fine. Yamato had just needed something from the locker room, and that meant Enjyu didn't have to worry at all. He'd given Yamato his celebratory hugs, and then it had been his turn.

Enjyu stood across from Wen, hands on Lightning Kahn, gaze on the few remaining pins composing Wen's half of the field. He could hear Yamato cheering for him loudly, and Li following suit as he cheered for his brother. Enjyu had to admit, he had underestimated Wen just a bit, and now he and Bakuso were really making Enjyu work for his win.

He had no intention of losing, either way. He began to match Wen's shots, blocking them from his final column of pins. He had to mount an attack, as the longer this went on, the more Wen's advantage grew.

Narrowing his eyes, he fired off a shot angled toward his own column of pins. It was about as risky as Vinnie quickly called it, and Enjyu knew if he'd done this wrong, then he was done for.

Fortunately, Wen was surprised long enough that he couldn't take advantage, and they both watched as Enjyu's shot ran through fallen pins and struck the fifth pin down the column. At the angle it hit, the pin fell forward toward Wen's side, sending all the pins before it falling over as well.

Enjyu grinned. It wasn't the best defense as he'd left himself with almost no pins, but it would do. Now, he could mount an attack. Wen seemed to realize what he was doing, as he began to rapid-fire against the pile of pins that formed a wall for Enjyu. Each shot edged the fallen pins closer and closer to the standing few.

Enjyu gritted his teeth, turned his barrel toward Wen's pins, and fired with a yell. " _Kahn Crush!_ "

Wen kept firing, even as Enjyu's shot blazed across and barreled over his field of pins, leaving a trail of smoke.

"Just a little more," Wen said to himself, but as the smoke settled—

"We have the winner of this elite eight match, folks, and it's Enjyu! Will this reckless rumbler cease to impress with his ever-risky strategies?"

⚡️⚡️⚡️

"Enjyu, you've been lucky so far," said Ababa. He took a moment to down his entire glass of milk, barely holding back a faint purr. "But being so rash in battle isn't going to always work out, you know."

Enjyu shrugged. "Yeah, I know. Shooting my own pins just seemed like the best option in the moment."

It was just the two of them in the best cafe in town. Everyone had gone out to the city around the Winners Dome to shop and look around, but he and Ababa had, as usual, gone straight to the planned rendezvous point. They both preferred to skip the frivolity after all.

Well, Enjyu might have gone with Yamato if Ababa hadn't mentioned wanting to talk to him privately.

"More milk over here please," called out Ababa to the lone woman behind the counter. Ababa turned back to Enjyu as she begun pouring him a new glass. "Now then, I wanted to talk to you about Yamato."

"What's there to talk about?" asked Enjyu, resting his chin in one hand on the table between them.

"Do you never worry that he will betray you?" asked Ababa.

Enjyu almost fell out his chair in surprise. He regained his composure quickly, straightening himself. So this was going to be one of _those_ talks.

"Hell no," he said. "Yamato would never betray me. He's my best friend."

"Enjyu." Ababa gazed at him evenly. "One day you may have to make your own decision about Yamato's presence in your life. Remember, there can only be one winner in every round, match, and tournament."

It was Ababa's own school of thought. Though he and Armada taught under the same roof and both taught the values of playing honorably, Ababa had always preferred fostering a more competitive edge to his own students. True competitors, he maintained, were lonely at the top.

For all that Enjyu liked Ababa's teaching style over Armada's, that particular lecture never sat well with him. Not when he had Yamato to prove that maybe Armada's lessons of strength from camaraderie rang a little more true than Ababa's advice.

"I know," he said, but he knew he would never be able to live without Yamato.

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato followed after Armada with Tommi on his shoulder, while Terry and Bull kept to his side. They walked through Winners City together, enjoying the late afternoon warmth. Terry and Bull were chatting about the Winners Tournament so far, and Yamato was only half-listening. He kept feeling as though he was forgetting something, but what exactly kept eluding him.

It was when he bumped into Armada's back for the third time that Armada turned around to ask him, "Yamato, you've been quiet, what's on your mind?"

He looked up at his master, thinking for a moment. "I just feel like there's something weird about this tournament."

"Well, you've said that before about the players in tomorrow morning's battle," Terry piped in. "That one lad gives me the creeps too."

Yamato paused, trying to recall who said players were. For some reason, he couldn't conjure up a mental image at all, and the only other two players he knew were going up against each other were... "You mean Gray and Liena?"

Terry looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "No, Yamato, it's Sigma and Biarce, remember?"

Biarce?

...Biarce...

"Holy fff...B-daballs!" Yamato exclaimed as shock ran through him. This wasn't real! That's what had felt wrong. With the shock of hearing Biarce's name, Yamato found he remembered everything as quickly as he'd forgotten, and this time, he had no intention of forgetting again.

Imaginary friends. Imaginary tournament. Was Biarce's addition Enjyu's doing? Yamato ignored how increasingly concerned the others were becoming as he began to pace right there on the street. His knowledge that this was all a dream mixed with the false memories he'd acquired, creating a jumble of thoughts that only made his head hurt.

Wait, couldn't he just...change things? It was Enjyu's dream, but now that he was dreaming too...Yamato turned and finally faced the others around him. Armada, Tommi, Terry, and Bull. They had fallen silent, but were gazing at him worriedly for his sudden, unusual behavior.

"Guys," said Yamato, "Go on ahead to the..." A pause, as he recalled what they had agreed on. "...the cafe first. I've got something to take care of."

"Yamato, what's this about?" asked Armada.

"I, uh, I wanna get something for Enjyu," he said quickly, though he was sure that imaginary or not, they could tell something was up. "A surprise! So just go right on ahead." He began to herd them off, practically shoving Terry and Bull along, to much flailing and protests.

"Okay, okay, we'll go!" Terry broke free of them, jumping away. "Yamato, we'll catch you later!"

Bull didn't seem to mind too much, as he started after Terry. "This must be something important, huh? Later, Yamato."

"What's this really about?" Armada hung back, looking down at him with a grim expression.

"It's just something I need to do, Master Armada," answered Yamato. It was about as honest as he could be. For all that this wasn't the real Armada, he wasn't sure what the realization that their world wasn't real would do to the cat, and he wasn't ready to make even an imaginary version of his master, or any of his friends really, go through that.

Armada said nothing for a long moment, before finally nodding. "All right then, Yamato," he said, "You do what it is you need to do, but you come back to us soon."

"Of course," said Yamato.

He waited till Armada—and Tommi—had joined Terry and Bull and gone out of sight before turning back to the street.

"Okay, let's see how much of this dream I can control," he said to himself, looking over the familiar sight before him. It could have been any of Winners City's streets, with its stalls manned by shopkeepers looking to profit off the big events going on due to the tournament.

If all he had to do was remind Enjyu of reality to wake him up, then surely he just had to change things into what had been real. While the various stalls had all likely been real in some way, a street full of merchants didn't exactly make for the most exciting thing.

Yamato grinned as he thought back to the festival on the eve of the finals, how the streets had looked then, with their bright lights and...

He glared at the sight before him. "I want...a festival!" he declared.

Nothing happened.

Yamato frowned, but he had never been one to be discouraged so quickly. This time, he tried picturing the way the town had been. It had been evening, with fireworks flowering in the sky and the streets, brightly lit by all the stalls, had been packed with humans, animal folk, and robots alike.

Nothing happened.

He grit his teeth, feeling suddenly a great pressure, as another idea occurred to him. So simply wanting it and simply picturing it wasn't enough. Yamato mustered up his will, and thought back to his final battle with Enjyu. Their final B-daballs in mid-air, pushing against each other from the final push they'd both given them. He thought back to that, and remembered how it'd felt and how much of his willpower he'd had to pour into that one B-daball before he'd managed another shot.

He thought of that feeling, of his B-daball pushing against Enjyu's and, holding onto that sensation, tried picturing the festival again and he imagined pushing it out onto the street before him like each part of it was a B-daball.

This time, something happened.

The street changed. The stalls were different, the crowds bigger. It was well into the evening instead of the late afternoon.

He sighed in satisfaction, watching the unknowing crowds mill about.

Yamato supposed he could practice before meeting up with Enjyu again. With a big grin, he remembered how things had looked even later in the evening...and with a push on the dream, the street was immediately flooded with an ever-expanding mass of popcorn.

Perfect.


	4. You Have But Slumbered Here IV - while these visions did appear

The cafe had slowly begun to fill up as the afternoon had worn on, and Enjyu had sat in his corner with Ababa the entire time, mulling over his master's words. They sat in a companionable silence, even after Armada had arrived with Terry and Bull.

Armada and Ababa were beginning to bicker when, to the group's surprise, it was Lienawho arrived to take their orders.

"Welcome to Mie's Cat Cafe," she greeted them, smiling more brightly than Enjyu had ever seen her smile. She paused, then her smile dropped away. "Oh, it's you guys. I didn't think I'd run into others of the elite eight at work."

"This is your day job?" asked Enjyu, genuinely curious now. Though Gray and Liena had taken the Winners Tournament by storm from the get-go, they were still someting of a mystery.

She shot him a look. "Yes," she answered, "Mie is sponsoring my brother and I, so we do our part in the cafe to repay her."

"Wow! That's awfully kind of her," said Terry, and Liena's expression seemed to soften for him.

"Mie's been wonderful to us," she said. "She picked us out of Wintoon and she took us anywhere we wanted to train—she's not a B-daplayer, you see."

"That's just like Master Ababa," pointed out Bull, "But with less fur."

To Enjyu's surprise, Bull's sincere, not-at-all-a-joke comment got a laugh out of her. She looked them over as a group, surveying the sight of their multiple tables and multiple empty chairs. "I'm going to guess you guys still have more coming, but tell you what," she said, "I'll go tell Mie to start up some elite eight specials for you all."

"Oh my, I think I'd like to talk to this Mie," said Armada, looking thoughtful, as Liena headed off toward the kitchen.

"Oh yes, if she's sponsoring B-daplayers, then it'd be in the interests of our school that we meet with her," said Ababa. Enjyu recognized the look in his eyes as him plotting something.

Their tables settled into a comfortable chatter that mingled with the rest of the cafe's, but Enjyu found himself watching the saloon doors at the entrance. Armada had said that Yamato just wanted to shop a little longer, but that had been hours ago.

"I'm going to find Yamato," Enjyu stood and declared, but he found he needn't have bothered, as Yamato bounded through the doors just then. He went straight for his favorite greeting of leaping into Enjyu's arms, and Enjyu, of course, caught him.

"Hey buddy, what's up with you?" asked Enjyu, raising an eyebrow at him. Yamato seemed fine, although... "Why do you smell like popcorn?"

"What?" Yamato blinked, then shook his head. "Oh, don't ask. Um...Enjyu..."

"Yeah, Yamato? Something wrong?"

Yamato kept staring at him, frowning. "You don't feel...any different, do you?"

Enjyu blinked, then shook his head as he gently let Yamato down. "Nope, still the same Enjyu as this morning, other than being a semifinalist now. What's up?"

He thought for a moment there was a flash of disappointment on Yamato's face, but it was quickly masked by his typical, easygoing expression and he quickly found something else to talk about. "Nothing. What'd you all order for dinner?"

"Oh, well." Enjyu realized that the chatter had paused, but now it was picking up again. "Get this, Gray and Liena work at this cafe, and Liena went and ordered food for us all."

"Wait, they work _here_?" asked Yamato, incredulous. He mumbled to himself, maybe thinking Enjyu couldn't hear him in such close proximity. "No way, that means this cafe is..."

"Here's your food."

That was Gray, curtly setting down several plates on the table Armada and Ababa occupied together. Enjyu swore he'd never seen the boy be nice about anything to anyone except his sister.

Liena had arrived as well, several plates in her arms that she began to place for them. And behind her was the lone waitress from earlier, also setting down dishes, whom Enjyu could now guess was Mie.

"Everyone eat up, here's your elite eight specials!" she declared with a big smile. "Liena asked me to make you all some extra special dishes since you're all part of the tournament too. Isn't she just the sweetest?"

"M-Mie!" Liena protested, plainly embarassed.

"Always so humble too," said Mie with a chuckle. "Now, would you all be all right if Gray and Liena joined you for dinner?"

"Huh?" Gray said, clearly alarmed as Mie placed a hand on his and Liena's shoulders each and started steering them toward the empty seats by Ababa. "Wait, that's not necessary, we'll just eat after work—"

"I think that's an excellent idea!" said Armada. "You're all competing in the same tournament, after all. There's nothing like a shared meal to bring B-daplayers together!"

And just like that, the twins joined them with a quick rearranging of chairs. Enjyu pulled his seat out to make space for Liena, bumping into Yamato in the process. He paused, realizing that Yamato had fallen quiet since the food's arrival, and a glance over told him he was looking away from everyone, shoulders tense and fists clenched.

"Yamato?" he reached over to try and catch his attention, but Yamato suddenly jerked away.

"Mie!" he shouted, looking up directly at her, and the entire cafe fell silent. Mie stood half-turned away where she had been about to return to her work, surprised at being called so suddenly and loudly. "Thanks for the food!"

Mie blinked, then laughed, breaking the silence as activity resumed. Enjyu found himself sighing in relief. For some reason, he'd thought Yamato had been about to start a scene of some kind.

"What was that about?" asked Enjyu as they all settled in to eat.

"Oh, you know," answered Yamato, reaching for a sardine sandwich. "I just got...a little emotional. It's real cool of m...of Mie to let Gray and Liena hang out with us."

"It's great to meet you all outside of the tournament," said Liena. "Honestly, you're all awesome B-daplayers, Gray won't stop saying so to me."

"Liena!" That was Gray from across her, flushing red, prompting a round of laughter around the tables.

Gray was saved from any further embarassment, because it was precisely this moment when Wen and Li came barreling into the cafe shouting something about popcorn taking over the city.

In the ensuing chaos, as the others stood to try and see what was going on with the brothers, Enjyu turned to Yamato, about to ask him if he had something to do with this, only to discover that he was gone.

It took only a quick glance over at the entrance to spot Yamato ducking out, followed by Armada's large frame disappearing out the door.

🔥🔥🔥

The distraction he'd willed had worked perfectly, and Yamato led Armada to the garden that stood beside the cafe.

"Yamato...just what is going on here?" asked Armada, shaking his head. "You've been acting strangely all day and...okay. Why do I know that it's weird I like Ababa and why do I know I'm not real?"

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, Master Armada," said Yamato. He did genuinely feel kind of bad about it, imaginary master or no. "I just...I just needed to have _someone_ here who knew."

"Someone who knew..." Armada looked thoughtful, tail twirling behind him. "You mean someone who knew that you were here to wake Enjyu up, therefore destroying our fragile reality?"

"Uh...sure." Did he have to put it like that? Yamato frowned. "I guess I just need _someone_ to talk to about it." The realization that he was alone in this adventure, that he had only himself to rely on, had hit him as soon as he'd seen the imaginary Mie. His mother had _always_ been a pillar of support for him, and being faced with a version of her that didn't recognize him had hurt.

"Well, you've made an excellent choice in who to represent your subconscious," said Armada. "The real me does, after all, give excellent advice. Now then...you're worried about how you're going to wake Enjyu up, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm...I'm afraid of this all not working," he said, hanging his head. "It feels like I only have one chance when it comes to this, and if I fail...I'll be stuck here with him forever too."

"Would it be so bad if you were?"

"Well, duh!" answered Yamato. He started to pace around the garden. "There's no question about that. I'm not staying here when Enjyu and I have a future together outside."

"Hey, I'm just here to ask the questions you're trying to not ask yourself," said Armada, following his pacing with his gaze. "So, you're worried that he won't wake up for whatever reason."

"I tried changing him directly but it obviously didn't work," admitted Yamato. When Enjyu had held him, he'd imagined him taller, older, and those strong arms bare instead of jacketed. He'd thought of that fair face scarred and hardened from a difficult life, but those pale blue eyes softened with a tenderness reserved for him. Most importantly, he'd thought of that delightful mane of bright red hair, like a flame marking out Enjyu wherever he went.

"It was worth the try, you had no way of knowing it couldn't work."

"I know."

"Why not take inspiration from yourself then?"

"Myself?" Yamato looked up at Armada.

The cat nodded. "Yes, yourself. How is it you remember what's real?"

"I didn't..." He stopped, thinking back to how easy it had been to fall into this dream world so quickly and thoroughly. "But I remembered again when I heard Biarce's name."

Armada simply gave him a look.

"You're right, it probably wasn't just Biarce's name, huh," said Yamato. He thought of the exact moment it had happened, the sensation of his mind snapping into focus. "I guess everything about me just knew it wasn't right."

"You may have found your answer," said Armada, smiling. "What is there that could be so fundamentally wrong that it'll shock Enjyu into remembering it's wrong?"

"Well it's probably not going to be Biarce," grumbled Yamato. "Not when Enjyu's the one who added him to the tournament in the first place. There's gotta be something..."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," said Armada. "I am afraid that's as much advice as I have though. As a reflection of your subconscious, there's only so much I know myself."

"I know that." Yamato sighed, then looked up at Armada. Without hesitation, he strode closer and wrapped his arms around as much of Armada as he could for a hug.

"Simply believe in yourself, I certainly do," said Armada, and Yamato felt a comforting paw on his back. 

"Thanks, Master Armada," said Yamato, as he drew away from the cat. He felt a lot better knowing someone here had his back. Maybe it wasn't all impossible after all, and maybe he'd been overlooking the simplest solution all along. He looked up at the evening sky. "I guess I better get to work."

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Enjyu turned the corner outside Mie's Cat Cafe`, and walked right into Yamato.

"Hey, there you are," he said, looking Yamato over. He seemed excited about something, from the way he was gazing back with a gleam in his eyes. "So...did you have something to do with the popcorn takeover?"

"What?" Yamato blinked, then flinched. "Oh, uh, nope. Definitely not me."

Enjyu just gave him a look.

"Very definitely not me," said Yamato, shaking his head. "Hey, Enjyu...there's something we need to talk about. Come with me for a sec."

"Uh...sure?" Enjyu began to follow after him, seeing no reason not to. He trusted Yamato with his life, and if there was something important going on, then all the more he was going to follow Yamato, no questions asked. "Lead the way."

They meandered around the exterior of the cafe, and Yamato led Enjyu up its side, climbing on some curiously conveniently placed boxes to reach the roof of the cafe.

They gazed out at Winners City's low lights together, its streets arranged like a sun's rays around the great dome. Spotlights from the dome playfully danced toward the growing number of stars in the dark sky, their light barely a candle's flame to the brightness of the near-full moon. Somewhere in the city was a mess of popcorn, but Enjyu found himself increasingly unconcerned with that fact.

His concerns about _anything_ quickly diminished toward almost nothing when Yamato took his hand. It wasn't as though they hadn't held hands before; Yamato was as physically affectionate as could be. Something about this night though...something about the way Yamato was looking at him with an intensity and a tenderness all at once sent a shiver down his spine.

"Enjyu," said Yamato, and still, there was that fervent gaze as he reached up and placed his free hand on Enjyu's cheek.

Enjyu leant forward as Yamato gently guided him down, until they were mere inches away from each other. "Yamato," he breathed. This was both welcome and confusing, and all sorts of exciting.

And then Yamato stood on the tips of his toes and gently pressed their lips together—and almost immediately, Yamato released him and drew back, leaving Enjyu to stare at him. His thoughts jumbled together, as Enjyu tried to make sense of what had just happened.

"Sorry," Yamato said, "I just—"

"Do that again," said Enjyu.

Yamato flushed a bright red, but did as asked, reaching up to kiss him just as chastely as the first kiss. When they broke apart, Enjyu could feel the warmth in his own cheeks. He gazed down at Yamato, wondering if this was something Yamato had been wanting to do for a while now, and for just how long? And then there was his own heart, pounding away hard in his chest as he considered that maybe it was something he had long wanted too.

"That was really nice," he said.

"...Yeah, it was," said Yamato, but this time Enjyu spotted a curious look in his eyes, and he would certainly be no best friend if he couldn't identify how _guilt_ looked in Yamato's expressions. "Enjyu, there's something else we need to talk about. It's...well, it's a lot less nice."

"...what is it?" Enjyu frowned, dread starting to creep through him as possibilities raced through his mind.

Yamato looked him straight in the eyes and said, "None of this is real."

"What?" Enjyu asked blankly. "What are you talking about?"

"This tournament, this city. Our friends. You, me..." Yamato sighed. "None of it's real because you're _dreaming_ , Enjyu."

"Yamato, that doesn't make any sense," he said, wondering if this was some kind of prank. "I'm dreaming...? I don't understand what you're saying."

"I'll show you. You might be the one dreaming, but I've learned a trick or two." Yamato held his arms out, looking down at them in deep concentration. A moment later, Tommi materialized out of nowhere, landing in his arms and immediately hopping over to his shoulder.

Enjyu stared, replaying the moment in his mind. One moment, Yamato's empty arms. The next, Tommi appearing. Maybe Yamato was serious after all. Maybe it was true.

"But if this isn't real..." he said, working it out, staring at Yamato, "Then what is?"

"That's—" Yamato barely got the word out, before something in the air shifted, cutting him off.

Enjyu blinked, and forgot everything they'd just talked about.

"Oh, hey Tommi," he said, reaching down to pet the cat circling their feet. He got a headbutt against his hand for the trouble. "Yamato, we should head back down. Good talk, huh?"

"Um," said Yamato, confusion plain in his eyes. "Yeah...good talk."

Enjyu grinned, and started his way back down, Tommi following after him. It hadn't been a bad night to sit around under the stars and talk about the upcoming matches, and guess at which players they would be facing in the semifinal.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Just as he had many times before, Enjyu stood with Ababa and his classmates on the sidelines to watch the next match of the Winners Tournament, opposite from where Armada and his students watched. This time, Gray and Liena had joined them, each twin choosing a master to temporarily call their own.

Liena had chosen to join them on Ababa's side, which had delighted Wen, but today she had none of the friendly cheer from the previous night. She was all business today, focused on the matches ahead.

"Welcome to the second day of the Winners Tournament semi-semifinals, everybody!" Vinnie's announcement sent the crowd into a thundering cheer. "We've got two great battles lined up today, and I hope you're all hyped for our first match! Entering the arena is everyone's favorite undefeated mystery lad, Biarce!"

The player in question shot out of the entry tunnel in midair, hovering over his side of the field as he gracefully landed to the great applause for him. Amidst the gasps from his classmates, Enjyu quietly took in his appearance—the dark hair, the pale skin, those piercing red eyes. He hadn't seen any of Biarce's matches, but there was something familiar and fascinating about him.

"Hm...what a curious child," said Ababa, but he said nothing further when Enjyu glanced at him and caught his eye, and Vinnie's next announcement would have drowned him out anyway.

"And his opponent is equally mysterious and equally undefeated...the man in the red mask Sigma!"

Cheering picked up again around the dome, and Enjyu too trained his gaze on the entrance opposite to Biarce...and the cheering went on and on, until it became a confused silence that settled over the arena.

"And it looks like Sigma's having issues getting to the arena! Where could he have gone?" Vinnie called out. "Wait—oh...well, folks, I'm afraid we've got bad news. It seems that Sigma has forfeited due to a...popcorn related injury? How does that even work? In any case, the rules are rules. Biarce will be moving on to the semifinals."

"See? The popcorn was real!" exclaimed Wen.

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato had tried to will it so Sigma stood a fighting chance against Biarce, but it seemed Enjyu's dream was just actively working against him now. He grit his teeth and watched as Biarce wordlessly floated away from the arena, though he did think it amusing to note a look of disgust on the other boy's face.

"Hang on to your seats, folks! After some deliberation, we've decided to move up the next semi-semifinal match. That's right, Gray versus Liena will be happening in a few minutes!"

And now, he would have to watch Gray and Liena battle, a matchup he'd tried so hard to prevent in this timeframe in reality. Though they sparred frequently nowadays, the tournament and Liena's freedom had been a different matter. Yamato grimaced, only half-listening to the encouragements Terry and Armada were offering Gray. Maybe manipulating other matches wasn't going to work. Maybe he would have to wait till the finals.

"Now calling on the twin terrors of the B-dabattlefield!"

"You can do it, Gray!" cheered Terry, "I know she's your sister but you've got to give it your all!"

"Hey, Gray," Yamato called out to him, "You can do this."

Gray nodded to them before starting toward the field. Yamato watched him go, as Liena came up opposite him. It had stung to be treated just a little differently by his friends, but seeing none of the familiarity and warmth in Gray's eyes had hurt the most. Even when they'd been enemies, even when the Shadow Alliance had held Gray's heart, they had still always regarded each other as friends.

He watched the twins walk up to each other, their faces both somber. They paused, then, without a word, they turned away and started to their positions at the field.

"These two are true competitors, everyone! Just look at the way they walk." Vinnie was naturally running with what was happening before him, playing to the crowd's energy. "Gray and Liena have taken the tournament scene by storm together, but at the end of today, only one of them will be moving forward. Who's it going to be? Well, let's find out! B-daplayers—ready! And set!"

" _B-dafire!_ " shouted Gray and Liena together, aiming at each other's pins.

He couldn't do this. Yamato couldn't watch this. Gray was going to win, but at the cost of battling Liena like this? Even in some imaginary world where they never met, that was his best friend versus someone he regarded as his own little sister. He couldn't watch this. He made some half-hearted excuse about feeling unwell to Armada and, without looking back at the match, fled from the field.

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato sat in the locker room, simply breathing. Here he'd thought that he'd gotten used to the bizarre differences in the dream already, but—evidently not.

"Well well, _Yamato_."

He leapt to his feet, whirling around and coming face to face with—

"Biarce..." Yamato couldn't help but step back as he took in Biarce's appearance. He looked as he had at the height of the Neo Shadow Alliance's power, a smug smirk gracing his features, red eyes brimming with confidence. Yamato grimaced, remembering too clearly both times they had battled, but he reminded himself as well that this wasn't the real Biarce. That one had gone missing after Marda-B's defeat. Likely dead, though he would continue to live on both as an eternal weight on Yamato's conscience and as a recurring presence in his nightmares.

This Biarce regarded him coolly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Hey, too bad about Sigma," said Yamato quickly instead of trying to comment on _that_. "Must have been annoying not getting a real match, huh?"

"Not particularly when it wouldn't have mattered," answered Biarce, lifting an elegant eyebrow at him. "Do you really believe Sigma stood a chance against me and Megadiabros?"

Yamato gazed at him with suspicion now. The way Biarce spoke made him sound less and less like he was part of the dream, but that wasn't possible...was it?

"No clue," replied Yamato, doing his best to _not_ get riled up, which was naturally not working. Every bit of him tensed as he considered how unreadable Biarce's expression had become, on top of just how exhausting it was to hold onto what was real and not. "I haven't seen any of your matches."

"Oh?" said Biarce, "That's a shame...Hm. Speaking of missing matches, shouldn't you return to the field? You wouldn't want to miss the outcome of this battle, no?"

Yamato scowled at him and sat back down on one of the benches, facing him this time, and crossed his arms. "Gray's going to win, and I'm going to face him in the semifinals."

"You sound awfully self-assured about that."

"Yeah. I am." Yamato met his gaze in defiance. Given how things were headed, it only seemed natural that Gray was going to win here and move on to battling him in the semifinals again. There seemed no other way for them to have their semifinals match like in real life, and there was no reason for that to change in retaliation to something he was doing. It wasn't as though he was trying to change the dream this time. Instead, he was just letting things happen as in...reality...

He was on his feet again and dashing past Biarce and back out to the field in an instant. How had he missed this? If reality was what broke the dream, then he should have gone the opposite route and forced it to work against him with what _was_ real.

Yamato arrived at the arena in time for Vinnie's final announcement.

"We finally have a tiebreaker, and it's a close forty-nine pins for Gray but a perfect score of fifty for Liena. Ladies and gentlemen, our last semifinalist...is Liena!"

⚡️⚡️⚡️

At Yamato's insistence, Enjyu—together with the rest of his classmates and his two teachers—found himself in an apron and wielding a waiter's tray in Mie's Cat Cafe to help her with the dinner rush. Enjyu supposed it was cute that Yamato was so taken by the cafe that he wanted to help out like the twins, but...was it fair that he got dragged into this too when he just wanted to eat?

He grumbled as he carried a trayful of seaweed soda to a table, barely brushing past Gray headed in the opposite direction. Gray had taken his loss as graciously as could be, but Enjyu swore he seemed to be throwing himself into his work a little harder than before.

The late afternoon wore on into evening, and one by one Mie let each of them off for the night. Enjyu hung up his apron and made for the door, only to pause when he realized Yamato was standing by it with a broom in hand and a morose look on his face.

"Hey, Yamato, I almost didn't see you there," he said, stopping to greet him. "You all right there?"

"Oh, uh, hi buddy." Yamato looked up, evidently distracted. "Sorry, I'm just...missing home, I guess."

"Well, it won't be long till we head home," said Enjyu, offering a reassuring grin. "And either way one of us is bringing the trophy home, right?"

"Um...sure..." Yamato only became quieter, and his gaze dropped away from Enjyu. He looked over at the rest of the cafe, where the others were either laying on the tables or helping to clean up.

Enjyu frowned. It was all kinds of _wrong_ to see Yamato, of all people, feeling so down. He couldn't even remember ever seeing Yamato look like this either. He wasn't sure what to do save to reach out and gently place a hand on Yamato's shoulder.

"Yamato, I..."

"Oh Yamato~!" That was Mie, calling from somewhere in the kitchen. It seemed that her determination to squeeze every bit of work out of Yamato was only going to continue. "I need your help with the dishes!"

And to Enjyu's alarm, Yamato immediately perked up and ran for the kitchen without another word or glance at him. It was bewildering, and he couldn't help but wonder now why Yamato liked this cafe so much. He'd never seen the younger boy do chores so eagerly. Or at all, really.

The saloon doors beside him suddenly swung open and a man called out, "Hello? Is this Mie's Cat Cafe? Oh, hey there Enjyu!"

He turned, and blinked when he found himself face to with Yamato's parents, his own father trailing along behind them as they stepped into the cafe.

"Hey kid," said his father in greeting, before wandering off to find a table that wasn't occupied by a sleeping classmate.

Enjyu nodded at him, then turned to Rai and Mei. Rai was looking at him expectantly, while Mei peered around at the cafe. He wondered if seeing them would cheer Yamato up. As far as his memory was concerned, they had always been the best at doing exactly that.

"Uh, hi," said Enjyu. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, once you and Yamato got into the semifinals, we knew we had to come up and watch your battles in-person. We ran into Armada at the hotel and he said you were working at this cafe," said Rai. He grinned. "Did you know your father drives like crazy?"

"That's why I don't let him drive me anywhere," answered Enjyu with a grin. He glanced over to find his father arguing with Terry about something. "Yamato's in the kitchen with the owner. I'll get him for you."

"I'll come along," said Mei, stepping after him.

"I suppose I'll go make sure Taijyu doesn't bully Terry too much," said Rai, turning the opposite direction.

They headed for the kitchen together, Mei stopping at the door while Enjyu went on ahead. He found Yamato and Mie washing dishes together, chatting about B-daman and...Yamato looking far more invigorated than earlier. Enjyu paused. Something about the sight of them working and the way they moved in sync felt strangely natural, like there was something just _right_ about this scenario.

He shook his head, and knocked on the wall by him to catch their attention. "Hey, Yamato. Your parents are here. My dad too, but your parents wanna see you."

"My...parents?" Yamato whirled around, trailing soapy water everywhere, his eyes widening with shock. He stood there, staring at Enjyu.

"Yeah, your parents," answered Enjyu, tilting his head quizzically at him. "C'mon, they came up to see our semifinals."

"I..." Yamato was still staring, standing rooted to his spot. He looked up at Mie for whatever reason.

"Oh, I'd love to meet your parents," said Mie, wiping her hands on her apron. "Come along, let's not keep them waiting."

"Y...yeah..." Yamato looked down at his hands, then wiped them on his pants and started after her.

Together, the three of them headed back out, and immediately ran into Mei.

"Hi Yamato!" said Mei, crouching to wrap her arms around her son. Enjyu noted that Yamato went stock-still, and it was a long moment before he reached up to return his mother's hug. Mei pulled away and smiled at him warmly. "I saw your matches on TV, sweetie. You've come such a long way. Your father and I are so proud of you."

"Thanks, m...mom?" said Yamato, looking rather disturbed. Neither Mei nor Mie seemed to notice, as Mei immediately began talking to the other adult.

"I heard he's been helping out with the cafe," she said, "I hope he hasn't been any trouble."

"Oh no, he's been wonderful," replied Mie cheerfully. "He got me all this extra help. It's just great."

"Hey, uh," said Yamato suddenly. "I just realized I forgot something outside. I'll...I'll be right back!"

And before any of them could say anything, he'd shot off out the door. Enjyu frowned, turning back to the other two. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Rai start to get up from the seat he'd wrangled away from someone.

"Oh dear," said Mei, "Without even saying hi to Rai first? I hope he won't be long."

"...I'll go make sure he doesn't get distracted," said Enjyu. He had a sudden feeling that Yamato really did not need to see either of his parents right now, and that maybe he would be the best bet at getting down to the bottom of this entire situation. With a nod to both women, he headed out after Yamato.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

He rounded the Cat Cafe, grateful for the light of the full moon, and found Yamato sitting against the wall in the garden, knees drawn up to his chest and face buried in his arms.

"Yamato...?" Enjyu paused at the fence circling the cafe's garden, wondering if Yamato had climbed over to get inside. He listened, to the wind sweeping past, to the distant bustle of the city, to the friendly chatter coming through muffled from within the cafe. Warm light spilled from the windows lining the wall, contrasting the cold, dark night.

A faint sniffle came from Yamato.

Enjyu didn't hesitate, immediately clambering over the fence. He landed on the dirt with a thud, then scooted over to Yamato and sat down by him.

"Hey..." he said.

Yamato slowly lifted his head to look at him. His face was a mess of snot and tears, prompting Enjyu to reach over and wipe his cheeks with the sleeve of his jacket. Yamato blinked at him, his big blue eyes hazy.

"I'm fine," said Yamato, sniffing. "I just...really need a moment."

Enjyu wasn't sure he believed him, but he settled for placing a hand on Yamato's head and giving him an affectionate pat. "Your parents are still going to be there when you're feeling better."

"...yeah, they are," mumbled Yamato. He looked away, mumbling something to himself, and all Enjyu could make out was him mumbling his own last name. "...Daiwa?"

Enjyu couldn't even start to guess at what was bothering him, so he just wrapped an arm around him instead and pressed closer to him. Yamato seemed to appreciate it, his shoulders relaxing a little.

It was strange. Enjyu found that Yamato had, over the course of the tournament, suddenly become strangely distant from him. He had trouble figuring out what Yamato was thinking nowadays, on top of his acting just a little differently from usual. From the moment Yamato battled Terry, he'd seemed...more mature about things. What had changed?

Yamato sighed, and leant against him.

But maybe, thought Enjyu, none of that mattered, as long as Yamato knew he was here.


	5. You Have But Slumbered Here V - and this weak and idle theme

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO'S READY FOR SOME SUBCONSCIOUS SHENANIGANS

The tower stage loomed over them all, and though awe for the massive structure filled him, Enjyu's worries only seemed to grow too.

His gaze dropped to Yamato, who was looking up at the tower stage with an unreadable expression. The previous night had been difficult, even when Yamato had eventually picked himself up and very obviously forced himself to head back inside with a smile. Enjyu had hovered near him the entire time, concerned he would need to step outside again. The evening had passed by without incident, but that worry still clung to Enjyu's heart, even as he steeled himself for his match.

Biarce hovered by his elevator with his hands clasped behind his back, meeting Enjyu's gaze impassively first, before suddenly smirking at him.

Dread immediately filled Enjyu for some unknown reason, mixing terribly with his worries, a feeling that only grew when he realized Biarce was approaching him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Biarce didn't seem offended that he was not offered a greeting, only tilting his head, a curiosity in his eyes. "I came to ask if you really think you have a chance at winning," he said.

Enjyu frowned, already disliking where this was going. "I wouldn't be in the semifinals if I wasn't as good as you."

"That's not what I asked," said Biarce flatly. He sneered at Enjyu's frown in response. "No, I want to know if you believe you should even be here, not when you're someone who's desecrated the sport of B-dabattles by _losing_ for _money_."

"Wh-what?" Enjyu froze. He'd heard that wrong, right? Surely Biarce hadn't just said—

"You heard me," said Biarce, sneer curling up into a smirk. "I've looked into your past with my connections. You're a disgrace pretending to be better than you are so you can deceive everyone into thinking you're _normal_."

"Shut up," said Enjyu. It wasn't true. He wasn't lying to anyone. He wasn't that person anymore. That child who lost for money, who let everyone else walk over him...That wasn't him now.

"Does Yamato know?"

"I told you to shut up," he hissed, but that was all Biarce needed to hear for confirmation.

"So you never told him," he said, and Enjyu was increasingly tempted to physically remove the smug look on his face as he went on. "And after everything he did for you? After his parents helped your father find work? After he got you into Armada and Ababa's academy? That's right, I know everything about you. You don't need to look at me like that."

Enjyu was no stranger to facing off bullies, and though resorting to fists had very often been the best route back then, he fought against the urge to simply sock Biarce across the face right now. With the match seconds away from starting, anything he did could only be used to disqualify him.

"Back off," he said instead, though it came through as a growl. "None of that stuff's important to our match."

That earned him a chuckle. "You're such a fool, Enjyu," said Biarce, "It's just as I said. Do you think you're _worthy_ of being here?"

Fists clenching, Enjyu considered just how _worthy_ Biarce would be to meet an unfortunate end at this instant and be the one reason he let himself be disqualified. The temptation was far too strong, but...his gaze briefly moved past Biarce, to Armada's group. Yamato was staring at the back of Biarce's head intently, a concerned frown on his face. His parents stood behind him with Mie, whom they had both taken such a liking to.

Enjyu met Biarce's eyes again. He thought of Yamato, of that first meeting on the banks of the river that cut through the city, of the buildings rising high and touching the orange sky behind them, the low sun drawing long shadows on everything, and Yamato's hair set aflame by the light as he invited him to B-dabattle and play. He thought of how Yamato had not cared about why he lost to other kids so often, instead launching straight into battling with him, how they'd instantly become friends, how Yamato had invited him to visit...then getting him into the school...

"Yeah, I'm worthy to be here," he stated firmly, holding onto his memories, onto everything they made him feel, everything that Yamato had showed him about being a true B-daplayer. If not for him, then maybe he would be the person that Biarce claimed him to be, but this was the truth—he wasn't that child anymore—and he only had to remind himself of it in the face of these insults. "Nothing you say is going to change that, Biarce, so _back off_."

"Such a shame," said Biarce, disapproval plain on his face, "And here I was, trying to be _nice_ to you. After all, I only want to give you the opportunity to cease your lies and show everyone what a loser you really are."

The opportunity to...Enjyu's eyes widened, and he found himself stepping back from the sheer surprise and anger as he realized just what Biarce was asking of him.

"That's right," said Biarce, his expression turning passive and calculated again. "Lose to me, Enjyu—for your own good. Let yourself go and go back to who you really are."

"That's enough!" Enjyu didn't stop himself from raising his voice this time, and Biarce's smirk finally dropped for a look of surprise that was quickly supplanted by an inquisitive one. "How many times do I have to tell you to back off?"

And like a saving grace, Vinnie's voice rang through the arena. "After some slight technical difficulties, the tower stage is now ready for action! We're expecting some intense battling today with Enjyu versus Biarce, as these two strong contenders for finalist race to the top! But you all didn't come here to listen to me tell you that, let's see it for ourselves—B-daplayers, to your positions!"

Biarce offered him one last smirk, and then he was hovering back toward his side of the tower. Enjyu grit his teeth, turning away and striding over to his elevator, doing his best to push aside his mess of thoughts and to calm the beating in his chest. Everything his opponent had said—it was wrong. All wrong. He knew that as fact.

So why, as he set Lightning Kahn on the field before him couldn't he stop shaking?

 _Do you think you're worthy of being here?_ Biarce's voice repeated in his head, over and over.

What if he _was_ right...?

And suddenly, Yamato's voice cut through it all. "Enjyu!"

He looked over to find Yamato with his hands cupped around his own mouth, shouting, "Don't forget, we promised to meet each other in the finals!"

And they did, they did promise it, all those years ago, and again before they left for the tournament. Enjyu took a deep breath, drawing on Ababa's lessons to center himself. He was good enough to win, and he was worthy of being at this tournament. He'd fought his way up, and being taunted by some stranger who didn't _really_ know him wasn't going to make him give it all up.

_"Now then, let's get this party started. Everyone's all fired up for what's looking to be a dramatic battle...B-daplayers, ready!"_

"Set! B-dafire!" Enjyu yelled alone, drawing back and firing. His B-daball hit its target, and a large '+10' appeared on the panel above and his elevator began to rise.

_"Ten points in one hit! Enjyu's once again demonstrating his skills as a power player, and if he can make his next nine shots consistently, then he'll have this match in the bag!"_

Enjyu fired again, claiming another ten floors, then again, but it was as he listened to the whirring of the elevator machinery mixing with the noise of the cheering crowd that he realized—the only shots he'd heard so far were his own. He paused and looked away from his field for a moment to discover that Biarce hadn't advanced up the tower at all.

"What in the..." He stepped toward the rail and leaned over it. Biarce was indeed still at the bottom floor, expression pensive as he gazed at his panel without moving.

_"Enjyu's gone up thirty floors but Biarce hasn't even started! Wake up, Biarce, wake up!"_

Simply continuing without Biarce wasn't going to make this fun, but Enjyu wasn't going to dwell on it. He turned back to his field, doing what he could to block out the way the audience had turned their attention to Biarce's inaction. He was going to focus, just as Ababa had always taught him. His next two shots took him up another twenty floors total, and that was when he heard a whirring that filled the arena, even greater than that of the elevators. Enjyu blinked, looking around to place its source—

A rapid-firing of shots resounded, faster than any sort of rapid-fire Enjyu had ever heard before, coupled with the sound of each shot hitting its mark.

_"A...Amazing, I've never seen such rapid-fire out of a B-daplayer and B-daman before! Why, he's going up so fast the panel can't even settle on a score...could Biarce be headed all the way to the top already!?"_

Enjyu grit his teeth. So rapid fire was Biarce's specialty? Fine, he could work with that. He only needed to make five more shots...

Biarce's elevator passed by him, climbing at a steady pace. Enjyu met his gaze, frowning when he realized Biarce was standing still and was enjoying his ascent with his arms folded behind his back.

There was nothing Enjyu could do but return to his field and fire again, taking him up another ten floors. Four more shots, at this pace, but he had a growing, gnawing feeling that maybe it wasn't enough. He wasn't going to be fast enough to beat Biarce.

"Enjyu!" That was Yamato again, and this time, he was standing on the stairs that twined around the third tower. His eyes gleamed with excitement, the warmth of their friendship plain in them. "Keep going! You can beat this jerk!"

Yamato was right. Enjyu wasn't going to just stand here and take it. Biarce was still advancing high above him, but that didn't mean he had to give up. He drew on the warmth he saw in Yamato's eyes, that glimmering feeling of knowing he believed in him igniting something deep in Enjyu's chest.

The feeling coursed through him, turning into strength as he fired with a yell of "Kahn Crush!"

_"Twenty points for Enjyu! He's not going to let Biarce win without a fight, but is it enough? It looks like Biarce's just reached the one hundredth—no, wait!"_

Enjyu looked up as his elevator ascended, and blinked at the sight of Biarce's stopped a short distance from the top.

_"Biarce's at level ninety-nine!"_

His heart quickening, Enjyu once again readied himself for another power shot. He had to do this _now_ , and fast.

His platform suddenly shook, hard, and his shot hit not its mark, but the panel around the target. Enjyu gasped as the lift rapidly descended back down to the sixtieth level.

Then the barrage came.

Dark B-daballs rained down around him, striking everything but him with a clear precision. His platform shook, forcing him to grab onto the railing around him to avoid being thrown off. He looked up to find Biarce, smirking down at him, Megadiabros floating by him. It was aimed toward him, and, difficult as it was to believe, served as the source of each and every B-daball.

"Hey, Biarce!" Yamato roared, "You cut that out right now!"

_"This just in from the judges! Since Biarce is not aiming at Enjyu, they're going to let him do it! Apparently it's not against the rules enough to stop the match!"_

Enjyu clung onto the railing, desperation gnawing at him as he realized there was no way he could advance under these conditions.

"You were never good enough, Enjyu," intoned Biarce, loud and clear over the noise of his nonstop firing. "Not to win, not to be here, and you're definitely not good enough for your friends. Do you think they'll still like you when they realize you're just a fake?"

"Cork it, Biarce!" was Yamato's response to that.

Enjyu grimaced, as he tried to stay steady on his feet, focusing more on that than on Biarce's words. If he could just make it back to Lightning Kahn, he could attempt his shot.

"Enjyu, you're looking scared," continued Biarce. "How does it feel to be powerless? To be the one who can't fight back? It was about time someone put you in your place, don't you think?"

His platform's shaking only grew as Enjyu inched toward Lightning Kahn, and the noise of Megadiabros's seemingly endless bombardment of his platform rose to a deafening level.

Then his platform stopped shaking, but the firing continued. This time though, Enjyu realized he could hear a second B-daman firing.

He looked up to see Yamato matching all of Biarce's shots, his hands a blur as he pushed Cobalt Blade's rapid-fire ability to its limit. Enjyu stared long enough to take it in. Yamato was good, that was an irrefutable fact, but to match the impossible speed set by Megadiabros was a completely new level of skill.

 _"Why, it's Yamato! Yamato's blocking—oh! Oh no everyone, my helicopter's going around the tower—_ quick, take us around _—I can't see what's happening to Biarce's b-daballs at all! Let's focus on Enjyu!"_

Mentally thanking Yamato and Vinnie both, Enjyu took the final step back to his field. "Sorry for the break, Lightning Kahn," he breathed as he set his hands on his old friend again. He knew Yamato couldn't keep up his defense forever, and he had only this one chance to cover the final forty levels. He breathed in and searched for the strength he needed. If Yamato could do the impossible...well, he wasn't going to fall behind in that regard.

_"It looks like Enjyu's gearing up for a big shot folks, but can it take him all the way to the top? Will Biarce let him make another shot if he doesn't get this right?"_

"Biarce's just wrong about everything!" Enjyu yelled. " _KAHN CRUSH!_ "

With lightning and fire bursting around him, he took the shot. His B-daball found its mark, and he immediately felt the elevator race up toward the top. Smoke and light engulfed him and the field both.

When the lift came to a stop with a large '+40' on the panel, he clambered up onto the top of the tower and looked down. The smoke was clearing, revealing Biarce still standing at the ninety-ninth floor, arms folded behind his back still. Megadiabros floated by him, pointed at the target that had needed to take just one more easy shot, but it had stopped firing and he was giving Enjyu as smug a look as ever.

"Biarce," he hissed, "Why?"

"The why doesn't matter," answered Biarce, "Only that you knew what it was like to be helpless in this particular match."

And with those words, to Enjyu's alarm, Biarce rose into the air and faded into nothing.

"Wh—"

_"Woah woah, I'm not sure what happened with Biarce there, but hey, we've got our first finalist! Enjyu is the winner!"_

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato gazed up at the tower stage, basking in its familiar shadow. He took a deep breath, taking it all in again, just as he had earlier in Enjyu's match.

He frowned, as he thought over how bizarre that one had been. Biarce had essentially done just about everything Enjyu had done to Wen in their match, and Yamato found himself pondering why the more he thought it over. His mysterious disappearance only made Yamato suspect the entire match had been from...something deep-seated in Enjyu, maybe.

He sighed, shaking his hands before himself to loosen them and ease his wrists. Though this was a dream, it seemed that he wasn't going to be allowed to freely pull off stunts like matching Megadiabros's automatic rapid-fire without consequences. He grimaced as he focused on the tower stage again, remembering this time the first time he'd battled on it. That had been with Gray, and he supposed there was some irony that, this time, Liena had no reason to forfeit.

The B-daplayer in question was crossing the field, walking up to him from Ababa's side. Yamato met her gaze and gave her a friendly smile as he lowered his arms, even though he was internally tired, exhausted really, from how emotional everything in this dream was making him. He had to admit, this dream had come up with the perfect parents for him, and something in him had snapped from meeting them the previous night.

"Heya Liena." He had to focus, think about what was happening before him instead of what had the night before and in the previous match. "Ready for our match?"

"You bet I am," replied Liena, cheerful as ever. "I just came over to say...I'm really excited about this match. You're such a strong B-daplayer, Yamato. You were awesome during Enjyu's match, you know!"

Yamato rubbed his neck at the compliment, flushing a little as he grinned at her. "Eh well, thank you Liena," he said, "You're great too."

She smiled. "Promise you'll give it your all?"

"I wouldn't do it any other way," he said.

She laughed, then held out a hand to him. "Shake on it?"

Yamato took her hand easily. "I promise."

"Good," she said, smiling sweetly. "Now, do _not_ scream."

"Wha—"

Liena's grip tightened around his hand, squeezing with all her strength and sending him reeling. Yamato bit down on his lip as she gave his arm a slight twist, tears coming to his eyes as pain coursed through him.

"Quit interfering, catboy," she said, her tone suddenly turning harsh.

"L-Liena..." Yamato managed through gritted teeth. "I don't...why..."

She released him, stepping back with a dark smirk on her face that instantly brought him back to the day they rescued her from the Shadow Alliance. Yamato gripped his arm, staring at her in plain shock.

"I've been watching, Yamato," she said, "And I've decided to take action myself."

"You...you're not Liena." Yamato looked her up and down. She certainly looked like Liena, but the sudden change that had overcome her gave him a sinking feeling that something weird and dream-related was happening.

"No, I am not," said Liena, "I am the administrator of this dream."

Yamato let his jaw drop, as everything suddenly clicked. The dream had taken over the imaginary Liena to battle and speak to him directly, or maybe the imaginary Liena had never been herself? He tried not to think about that too hard, focusing on the problem in front of him instead.

"Why?" he said, "Why do all this?"

"Did you think I would just let you rampage your way through Enjyu's paradise?" she countered, "You've been a nuisance with your little attempts at waking him up, but this ends here."

"That's not what I meant," Yamato snapped, a familiar righteous anger growing in him. "I just want to know why you're doing all of this to Enjyu. I just want to know what you _want_ from us."

Liena fell silent, shutting her eyes for a moment as though considering his question. In her silence, Yamato realized that it had become unusually quiet in the arena itself, and a cautious look around told him that everything and everyone in the Winners' Dome had stopped moving.

He looked over to where both his parents and Mie stood with Armada and Terry, frozen in the middle of a conversation. He looked over at Enjyu, foot in the air as he was mid-stride toward where Wen and Li were fiddling with Bakuso and Rekuso together with Bull. Gray, arm raised in the air as he cheered for his sister.

Yamato turned back to Liena, and found her watching him. He knew now—this was only part of the full extent of control she—or the dream itself—had over this reality.

"You seem to be under the impression that I have some personal stake in this," she said, "I am doing only as my programming dictates, and that is to carry out Enjyu's trial. In order to do that, I must maintain the paradise he desires. _You_ , however, are not part of the test, and your efforts have forced me to take drastic measures."

"I'm not going to stop," said Yamato, meeting her gaze. He glared at her, though he knew he had no way of defending himself if she decided to just cut him off from the rest of the dream...assuming she could do that.

Wait.

He grinned. "Hold on, you can't control anything _I_ do," he said, "So why haven't you just blocked me off from Enjyu and replaced me with a fake? Or what about—just removing me completely? Make it so Enjyu never met me...you can't, can you?"

Her grimace told him that he had caught onto something important.

"You are...necessary," she said, looking uncomfortable. "Enjyu's ideal world will be incomplete without you here. In fact, you are crucial to it. But your entry to the dream has overriden any potential other versions of you, and thus I have no choice but to incorporate you into the dream."

"That's a lot of big words," said Yamato. The more they talked, the more his confidence from the beginning of this adventure returned. He was alone here, but he wasn't as powerless as he'd come to think. "And big talk just to say that _you_ need _me_."

"Enough," she said. "We shall have our battle as planned and settle this the human way: with a B-dabattle. Let us have a friendly wager for it. Should you win, I will allow you to make all the changes you wish."

"And if you win?" he asked, though he could easily guess what she wanted.

"Turn yourself over to me," she said, "And become part of the dream. No more fighting, no more pain. Only happiness and a reality of Enjyu's choosing."

"How do I know you're going to be playing fair?" he demanded.

"Anything I do that pushes the boundaries of Enjyu's belief in the dream is dangerous," she said, "I shall limit myself to the skill and strength that Enjyu assigns this form—that is, this girl, Liena. If these terms are acceptable to you, we shall have a friendly wager and our match fair and square."

Yamato steeled himself. "Okay," he said, "I accept your terms."

That seemed to please her, as she smiled and nodded. Liena stepped back from him, and the world shifted. The silence in the arena gave way once more to the eager crowds, and everyone began to move again. Yamato stared at her, as she smiled and nodded at him, and made her way back to her elevator.

He frowned as he turned toward his own elevator and started toward it, very much disliked everything about this. Yamato had a feeling though that simply winning this match was going to be his best bet for now. Surely he could still pull off his most powerful attacks with Cobalt Blade? He paused only to take it out of its holster, looking down at it and turning it over. It was just as he remembered...this was one good thing about the dream, he supposed, as he ran his thumb over the flames on its shoulder pads, thinking back to how those flames had formed from the B-daman's reaction to his B-daspirit.

He walked right into Armada, blinking as he bounced off the thick fur and stepped back.

"Spending time with an old friend?" asked Armada, turning to face him.

"Yeah," answered Yamato. He looked down at Cobalt Blade one more time. "It'll be nice to bring it to the finals this time."

Armada nodded. "You take what you can get," he said, "I imagine Liena won't make this easy for you."

"No, she won't," he said, "I've sparred with her enough by now to know just how strong of a player she is...not to mention the first time we faced off, she didn't have any reason to hold back. That's not something you just forget."

"I'd ask if you think you have what it'll take, but I know you better than that," said Armada.

Yamato grinned. "My name is Yamato Delgato," he stated, and Armada groane in response. "I was raised by cats 'til the age of five. I've been B-dachampion three times and I saved the world once. A battle with the administrator of this weird dream test in the form of my best friend's sister on a tournament stage I've competed on before? Easy peasy."

"Hm, yes," said Armada, who was shaking his head at him, "But that's you outside the dream. You aren't any of those yet, not here. Besides...you're not exactly Yamato _Delgato_ in here either."

"...yeah," Yamato's grin fell away as he peered around Armada. His parents were off to the side, looking quite excited about the match. And Mie...Mie was, well, trying to sell boxed lunches to the waiting crowd. "Yamato Daiwa doesn't sound too bad, I gotta admit."

Armada was watching him with a frown. "You've thought about it some more, haven't you?" he asked, "What if you never woke up?"

"I'd have Enjyu..." he said, "And real parents who I really like. And I'd find some way to keep hanging out with mom...Mie. And all my friends are here. There's no Shadow Alliance, there's no Marda-B. It really would be paradise."

"But?"

"But it wouldn't be real." Yamato holstered Cobalt Blade, and looked up at the tower stage again. "And it's not just all of you or the world that wouldn't be real. It wouldn't be the real Enjyu. It wouldn't be the real me. Both of us...we've changed and grown from everything that happened to us, both the good and bad. We aren't who we are without any of that...we wouldn't be the same."

When he looked back to Armada, he received a bright smile.

"Then you know what you have to do."

🔥🔥🔥

He could hear Liena's constant set of shots, as she climbed up the tower at a steady pace. Garnet Wind had always been built for accuracy, but Liena had long supplemented that with power that her training had granted her. It was power that she maintained and she sparred with him and Enjyu as much as she sparred with her brother.

So Yamato now found himself far behind Liena, as she poured power into each quick but precise shot. He gripped Cobalt Blade tight and began to draw inward in that familiar way. He'd honed and refined this attack in the time since his first tournament, and he wasn't going to let that go to waste.

He had a feeling anyway, that Liena—the dream—had looked only into his skill level at the time of the tournament. He grinned, dug his heels in, tugged on his B-daspirit, and fired with a yell—"Cobalt Power Blast!"

_"F...Fifty points! Yamato's powerful special attack has jumped him up halfway already! How will Liena recover from this?"_

His thumb hovered over the trigger, as he started to draw on it all again. He thought of Enjyu and how closely they'd stuck with each other for so long, how things had changed and grown between them, how deeply their passion for battle translated to an intoxicating love.

He drew on that this time, thinking of Enjyu as he made his own strength.

"You're going to take away his happiness?"

Yamato glanced over and found that Liena's lift, though in the middle of ascending, had paused at the fifthieth level. Everything had once again stopped, and she was holding onto the railing that parted them as she spoke.

"This isn't happiness," he said quietly, turning back to Cobalt Blade. "You're just lying to Enjyu by taking away everything that really happened to him."

"He has suffered so much."

"I wish his life hadn't been horrible," admitted Yamato, keeping his tone even. "I wish he didn't go through hell as a kid. I wish the Shadow Alliance never existed."

"Then let him have that."

"I can't." Yamato stared at his target, breathing in deeply. "Because all those things, in the end, make him the Enjyu _I_ can make happier than your stupid dream trial ever can."

"I see."

He saw, out the corner of his eye, her lift rise away from him, signaling that everything had resumed again. The crowd was cheering, and he mentally shut out Vinnie's commentary as he took aim once more.

"Cobalt Power Blast!" he shouted again, firing with all his might.

_"Another fifty! Yamato's going straight to the top!"_

🔥🔥🔥

"Yamato! You were awesome!"

Yamato barely had a moment to turn around, before he was lifted off the floor by a pair of arms around him. He blinked, realizing that it was Enjyu who had run over to give him a hug.

" _Nyapa~a,_ " slipped from his lips, as he contentedly let Enjyu hold him. It _was_ nice, to be the one given a hug for once.

All too soon, Enjyu set him back down, and Yamato grinned up at him.

"We made it to the finals," said Yamato.

Enjyu didn't answer, or move at all, and Yamato sighed. He turned around, and came face to face with Liena one more time.

"Will you stop that?" he said.

"I am ensuring we can speak freely," she answered. "You won. As per our agreement, the dream is yours to control as you see fit and I shall no longer impede you. But...know that abrupt changes run the risk of hurting his mind."

"I figured," he said. "Now, are you going to let me spend time with my boyfriend before the finals or what?"

Liena inclined her head in a half-nod in Enjyu's direction, and time resumed.

Enjyu laughed. "We sure did, buddy..." he trailed off, as he noticed Liena. "Oh, uh, didn't see you there. You were pretty cool up there too."

"Thank you," said Liena, smiling kindly at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go check on my brother."

The two boys watched her make her way to the sidelines, before turning back to each other. Yamato found himself, not for the first time, taking in the differences in Enjyu's appearance, particularly his blue hair that framed his face. This was what could have been...

"Um, Yamato," Enjyu said, breaking the silence between them, "Is there something on my face?"

Yamato quickly broke away, though he couldn't stop himself from flushing red for being caught staring. He wasn't sure if Enjyu remembered their kiss on the rooftop, and...he was afraid to even try asking. Instead, he shrugged at Enjyu with a big grin.

"Oh nothing," he said, "Just thinking about how I'm going to beat you so hard in the finals."

Enjyu snorted. "In your dreams."

Yamato managed not to wince at Enjyu's wording, instead offering Enjyu an even bigger grin. "Yeah? I'm taking you straight to dream town in our match."

"That one doesn't make much sense," pointed out Enjyu.

"Well I—no, no, you're right, it doesn't..." Yamato laughed, shaking his head. Nothing like some banter to lighten the mood. "I think there's a festival tonight."

"We're going together, right?" asked Enjyu.

"I kind of wanted to help Mie out some more," Yamato admitted.

Enjyu blinked, then shrugged. "Guess I'll come along."

There was time before the festival, time for Yamato to think over his plans for the next day. They made their way out to the city together, and when Yamato took Enjyu's hand in his, there was no attempt to pull away. He felt Enjyu squeeze his hand, and Yamato wondered, once again, what it would take to wake him up.

🔥🔥🔥

"Yamato?"

It was finals day, and Armada had once again come to speak with him. Yamato sat in the locker room, turning his ideas over and over in his head. Would _any_ of it work? He looked up at Armada, who was patiently waiting for his acknowledgement, and sighed.

"What if just battling him normally isn't enough?" he said aloud.

Armada gazed at him impassively. "There is another way...if Biarce was a great shock that woke you, then what would be the greatest shock you can give Enjyu?"

"...betraying him before the match starts," answered Yamato quietly. He knew it would shatter everything about Enjyu, to make even this imaginary world think of him as a cheat. He knew the story, whispered to him under the cover of darkness while they lounged in bed together.

"You're considering it," stated Armada.

Yamato shut his eyes, picturing it. It wouldn't be hard to start the rumor, to conjure up someone who would spread the lie to the audience. It wouldn't be hard to stand there and feign shock.

It would be hard to lie to Enjyu's face. It would be hard to watch him startle and break.

Was this what he needed to do?

But even if it were a dream...

"No!" Yamato leapt to his feet, eyes snapping open. "I can't do that to Enjyu! I can't! I'll just have to battle him the same as before and make him feel my B-daspirit!"

Armada was smiling. "Good on you, Yamato. I can tell you, as your subconscious, that you'd regret it forever if you did that, no matter the outcome."

Yamato nodded. "Right...I better get ready. I've got a final to win all over again."


	6. You Have But Slumbered Here VI - no more yielding but a dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET'S GO  
>   
> 

_"Our final match is a direct hit battle with only three rounds! Whoever wins two out of three is the winner!"_

They stood opposite from each other, Cobalt Blade and Lightning Kahn at their respective ends of the field.

"This is it, buddy," said Enjyu, and Yamato grinned at him.

"Yeah," said Yamato.

Enjyu found himself wondering what Yamato was thinking, though he thought it odd that he couldn't tell in the first place. Yamato had always been straightforward in expressing himself, at least until recently, and that...that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

 _Focus!_ he told himself. That was the sort of thing you worried about later, and not when there was such an important match right in front of you. Enjyu thought of Ababa's lessons, concentrating and creating in his mind a wall around himself, the field, and the enemy. Anything beyond the wall was a distraction.

But faintly, through that wall, he heard the announcement as it came. Enjyu tightened his grip on Lightning Kahn, adjusted his stance, leant forward, and—

_B-dafire!_

🔥🔥🔥

It wasn't hard to force the match to start the same as it had in reality. Yamato remembered it clearly enough to know they each won a round, and then he only needed to keep matching Enjyu's power. They fired at each other again and again, the match's rounds flying by quickly.

Yamato couldn't bring himself to care too much about the match on its own, not when there was something else worrying him more than winning. If he won, it would help to fix things, but could he count on that? Could he guarantee that winning would wake Enjyu up? It wasn't too late to explore another option, as long as the rounds continued, as long as they flung each other from the field over and over again, and as long as they both got back up.

He had no choice but to go for it and win again. The other option—Yamato cast it aside as he fired again, matching Enjyu's attack. Winning had to be enough, it _had_ to be...and If he couldn't wake Enjyu up that way would he do? There was no Shadow Alliance here, and likely no Marda-B. They would be treading new ground, and Yamato wasn't sure he liked the ideas flitting by the edges of his conscious mind for what to do if _that_ happened.

And then the fortieth round came.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Everything else had faded away.

The only things that existed right now were himself, the game, and Yamato. Enjyu couldn't hear Vinnie or the crowd anymore, and everything past Yamato blurred in his vision. The battle was all that mattered, and he was nothing but a B-dabattling force of power set to task before an equally strong force. Each shot deflected into their targets, each shot drove their wills against each other—a clashing of two B-daspirits woven from the same cloth.

There was no time to stop and think, but Enjyu allowed himself a single notion as he fired again, his power shot long drained, and this is what he thought: _This_ was what a battle between legends looked like. It was exhausting. It was exhilirating. It was glory given form.

And then, as he was panting and resting against the field, Enjyu faintly heard the timer's buzz, and he was suddenly aware they had come up to round forty. The thought only reminded him that he was tired, that his hands were stiff and numb and he could barely even feel the trigger on Lightning Kahn anymore.

Yamato looked to be having the same issues, and he was grimacing down at his own hands. Then he was looking up and gazing into Enjyu's eyes, and Enjyu somehow knew this was their last round.

They nodded to each other in understanding, and Enjyu heard the timer buzz.

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato had managed to only be a _little bit_ irked that he had forgotten just how exhausting their final match had been. He was no stranger to the heaviness in his arms, nor was he the type to complain about the weight attacking his shoulders and chest, but it was the part of the match he didn't like remembering. The dream had imposed _this_ limitation on him, no matter how hard he fought it, so here he was, once again slumped over his B-daman, barely able to look across the field to where Enjyu was likewise having trouble standing...and up at the remnants of their power shots in the middle of the field. The orange and red B-daballs hung there, propelled forward by momentum born from the willpower they'd both driven into each of theirs.

Through the haze of his fatigue, he could hear voices.

It wasn't quite the same, not when the ones cheering his name included his parents in the number, but it would have to do. He rose to his full height again as their shouts brought strength back to him, just enough of it, though it wasn't much, and he readied himself to fire.

The problem was that Enjyu was doing the same, his teeth gritted as he struggled to straighten himself. Yamato could see just past him, and through the multitude of cheering voices...he could see hear Ababa and Wen and Li and Liena cheering for Enjyu. Maybe Enjyu had long hoped someone had been there to shout his name too.

They fired together once again, their power shots driving toward each other and knocking aside the previous two.

Then, once again, they were at an impasse, and once again they were slumped over.

Was this how it was going to end?

Yamato realized with a jolt that if he let the match end in a draw...then what was there he could next do to wake Enjyu from the dream? He had to bank on the shock of losing the final to be good enough...it had to be! And Yamato, swaying on his feet, looked past the fighting B-daballs and into Enjyu's eyes. Enjyu was barely on his feet as well.

He held Enjyu's gaze, and everything else fell away. Yamato realized how quickly he'd been drawn into the battle, and—well, he supposed that was the problem if you _loved_ B-daman. No battle, even imaginary, would fail to take all his interest, and now he had to remind himself he was here to save Enjyu. He was here to wake him up and make him remember everything that was real and everyonethat was real. And one of the most important things—one of the most important things was—

"Enjyu!" Yamato shouted, and his hands were numb and he could barely stand but he dug into himself, and then he dug deeper and deeper and he found a bubbling well of strength that rose up and reached out to him and—

_Enjyu slid an arm around him as they sat in the imaginary cafe's garden, and Yamato knew that despite his tears over Mie and everything else, he would have let Enjyu do whatever he wanted to him right there in the garden. But they'd sat there quietly, and Yamato had looked away from Enjyu and, for just a few moments, he pretended they weren't dreaming and that the arm around him belonged to Enjyu as he was outside the dream—_

_Yamato met Enjyu's gaze as they both stepped away from the battlefield, the thunderous cheering of the Meowlantian crowd fading into mere background noise that danced on the edges of his senses. The announcer, manager of the hotel really, was congratulating him and reaching out to shake his hand, and Yamato absently let him and he was sure he managed to make some kind of witty comment about winning the exhibition match but...but none of that was important, because Enjyu was giving him a hungry look that sent a shudder down his spine, and it was one that promised that Enjyu was going to_ devour _him tonight—_

_It was a slow day at the cafe and Yamato was laying sprawled on Enjyu and he was receiving the best cat pets ever in his life—_

_He was crying by the end of Enjyu's recountal. It wasn't fair that Enjyu had to go through all of that, Yamato had thought as he lay there beside Enjyu and let the darkness of his room hide his tears. Enjyu wasn't looking at him, but a distant expression had come over his face. Yamato swallowed, not trusting himself to speak after hearing Enjyu's most painful memories. All Yamato could do was reach over and touch Enjyu's cheek—_

_There was a familiar figure seated in the cafe. Yamato stopped at the entrance, feeling Gray bump into him and immediately complain. He fell silent soon enough, and Yamato was walking slowly over to Enjyu, who sat with Mie and wore as neutral an expression as he could. But Yamato could see past it. He could see the pensive, pained look beneath the mask of apathy, could pick out the hints that Enjyu's expectant gaze was tinged with fear that he was about to be turned away. But Yamato would never do that, so he'd swallowed and started forward again, step after step—_

_Yamato froze as Enjyu stepped out from behind the orb, third eye proudly displayed for him and Terry both to see—_

_He stood before them, shadowed in the dark of the Tsubakuran night. Yamato's hands were numb and the others were crying out in alarm but all he could focus on was the horrible hatred that had returned to Enjyu's eyes. And then quite suddenly his shock was turning into anger and fury because he just—he just didn't understand—why—_

_Enjyu gazed down at them in the springs, face framed by the night sky, and he was smirking and saying terrible things about Gray, and Yamato felt something burst inside him, a rumbling scream that surged through him and tore out his lips. And Enjyu, for the first time, but not the last, looked surprised by him—_

_"I'm Enjyu and I represent the Shadow Alliance," he declared, and Yamato looked up at him and, from this first brief meeting, knew they were going to battle one day—_

—and he reached out and took that strength by hand and fired one more time with a shout of _"Cobalt Power Blast!"_

And so round 40 of the last match of the imaginary Winners Tournament ended with the fifth B-daball fired between the finalists—

🔥🔥🔥

—and then the timer buzzed.

And Yamato was suddenly aware that all his strength had returned to him, and Enjyu looked to be whole and fine again too and was gazing at hiim intently from across the field and Vinnie was announcing it was once again the fortieth round.

Yamato blinked in surprise.

He met Enjyu's gaze with wide eyes, which the boy seemed to take as cue, because he nodded and fired before Yamato was ready.

Yamato heard Cobalt Blade click, and just like that the finals were once again over—

🔥🔥🔥

—and Yamato heard the timer buzz again.

It was once again round 40.

🔥🔥🔥

And again.

🔥🔥🔥

And again.

🔥🔥🔥

And again.

🔥🔥🔥

And again.

🔥🔥🔥

And again.

🔥🔥🔥

And—

"Stop it!" shouted Yamato, anger bubbling over the confusion. He glared at Enjyu, who was grinning brightly at him.

"Why?" said Enjyu, "Isn't this fun, Yamato?"

"No!" shouted Yamato, before realization hit him. "Wait, you're...Enjyu, do you know you're dreaming now?"

"Dreaming? Is that what this is?" asked Enjyu with a blink. He shook his head, "Does it matter, Yamato? Don't you think it'd be fun to just battle like this forever? Isn't this paradise?"

Yamato opened his mouth to answer because _no_ , but he froze as he realized Enjyu was no longer sporting his long blue hair. Instead, Enjyu was as he appeared in reality again, red hair framing his face like a flaming halo, a smirk gracing his lips as his scar crept up his cheek once more.

"Enjyu..." he managed to say, but as he shook his head, the noise of the crowd disappeared together with everything else in the arena, leaving behind an empty void marked with a faint grid of lines. Yamato blinked, mind trying to catch up to...everything happening right now.

"C'mon Yamato, are you that afraid of a little B-dabattle?" Enjyu was sneering at him, a familiar look that gave him pause.

Did everything that had happened in the dream happen just to get him and Enjyu to this point? Was this really what Enjyu wanted, deep down? To battle him endlessly, over and over...but it didn't seem right! But what if it _was_ what he desired? What right did Yamato have then to impose his own ideas of what Enjyu should want?

Yamato drew in a breath sharply. He didn't have the right, no, he didn't think so.

But after all this time, after everything they'd been through together, Yamato liked to think he knew Enjyu's heart as well as he knew his own.

And he knew everything about this was wrong.

"You're not Enjyu," he said calmly, keeping his tone even for once. He wondered if that was one of those signs that he'd changed on this little adventure. Being able to pause and take the time to assess situations outside of B-dabattles was never one of his best skills compared to what Gray and Terry were capable of, but with an enemy that he had to battle in another way and all on his own, it seemed that he'd had to learn to do more of it.

 _Note to self_ , he thought, _Stop going to Meowlantis before you're ready for life-changing experiences!_

"Yeah?" asked Enjyu with a laugh, "If I'm not Enjyu, then who am I supposed to be?"

Yamato offered up his best glare. "This isn't what the Enjyu I know would call paradise. Maybe in the past, yeah, but not anymore," he stated, not letting his voice waver. Yamato found himself both hoping he was right and hoping he was wrong as he voiced out his theory. "You're just a little bit of Marda-B that got left behind in Enjyu's mind, and that's why our first match is your stupid fake paradise!"

"Interesting idea," said Enjyu, "So you want to place all the blame on Marda-B again? You're _so_ unfair to him, don't you think? Haven't you considered there might even a little bit of me that misses how much simpler things were back then?"

Yamato shook his head, though a little of his resolve did waver. "I've got no doubts about it."

"Fine." Enjyu laughed again, and this time he grinned. "I'll give you this much, Yamato: you're right. The one who's talking to you right now...I _am_ what the B-energy couldn't erase. But lemme ask you this—what makes you think none of me is Enjyu?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means what it means, Yamato," answered Enjyu, speaking matter-of-factly. "I might be a remnant of Marda-B's power, but you're just plain wrong if you think that's all I am. You want to believe Enjyu is nothing but a goody two shoes like you now, so you've obviously been denying it. Here's the truth, _Tomato_ , I come from Enjyu as much as I come from Marda-B, and what _I_ want is the best battle in Enjyu's life for myself."

"Well, yeah, Enjyu has issues," said Yamato with a snort, "That's part of what makes him Enjyu, and you know what? You really aren't Enjyu if you haven't already realized that we actually talk about this stuff. But you know what? I'm done talking to _you_."

Yamato shifted his grip on Cobalt Blade, thumb on its trigger and ready to fire again.

"Aw, done talking? Really? All right then." Enjyu set his hands back on Lightning Kahn and sneered. "You think you can beat me and remove me from Enjyu when you don't have any B-energy on hand?"

Yamato grit his teeth, but said nothing. He'd said he was through talking, and he was determined to focus solely on this next round. He met Enjyu's gaze. It was true, he had no B-energy on hand, and this time around there were no friendly ghosts to create a new one for him. But that wasn't going to stop him. Walls didn't stop him, and Selene hadn't stopped him. He was here to save Enjyu, and he wasn't going to let a little something like _no B-energy_ stop him. His B-daspirit would just have to do.

And he reached for it. He saw that same well of strength that he'd reached for just earlier, and then he went past it. He dug deeper and deeper into himself, thinking about Enjyu and each of his friends in turn. He thought of how Gray and Liena and Mie were waiting for him, how Terry was coming to visit soon, how Wen and Li never failed to bring back food from Laiken, and how Bull and Armada were always tinkering with everyone's B-daman...

They weren't here, but Yamato had learned years ago that he was never really alone.

But somehow, as he felt it all flaring into a swirl of power that raced through him, his mind settled on the voice of someone he had never considered a friend, but whose memory lingered on anyway—

_...Marda-B will most certainly enjoy your powerful B-daspirit...is Yamato's energy so powerful, it's overloading Megadiabros..._

" _Full Force Cobalt Power Blast!_ " he roared, faintly hearing Enjyu's own power shot go off as his tore from Cobalt Blade.

This wasn't like the other times. He could feel his own strength, his own B-daspirit, dance through the air, a thick layer of energy settling over the entire field. Yamato saw Enjyu's eyes open wide for just a moment, as their shots met in the air again, and then he felt the energy in the air _ignite_ and quite suddenly it was a battle of fire and lightning darting all about.

Yamato felt his resolve only grow, so he stood his ground, meeting Enjyu's eyes from across the field. Something was fighting against the pressure he exerted, that much he could feel, but as Yamato pressed his B-daspirit against it more and more, he felt it start to give.

Lightning and fire alike cackled all around them, engulfing the void, and that was when Yamato heard a great cracking noise burst out all around them. His B-daball shot forward, sending Enjyu's flying. He felt like he'd just broken through some kind of great dam.

The shot struck Lightning Kahn, and its flames simply grew and engulfed B-daman and B-daplayer both, sending Enjyu sprawling away from the field.

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Enjyu opened his eyes, sat up, and looked around in alarm. He was sitting on the floor of the Winners Dome arena, and there was a crowd going wild in the stands that surrounded them. He heard, faintly, Vinnie's voice saying something about an interloper, and right in front of him—

"Enjyu!" Yamato practically shouted, though he was standing over him and looking several years younger. Enjyu blinked, and looked down at himself.

"Ew, why am I thirteen again?" he asked. He shook his head to clear it of a curious haze, as though he had been asleep for a while. "Yamato? What's going on? This isn't the ruins...woah, why do I remember your parents and battling Biarce in the tournament—"

Yamato made a strange, strangled noise, and then he was on him, arms around him, cheek rubbing against his, the sound of sobbing rising from his much smaller body. On reflex, Enjyu wrapped an arm around him, steadying him carefully. He was certain he'd missed something here, something important, and whatever it was that was making his boyfriend cry, Enjyu was instantly determined to either fix or destroy it.

"Enjyu, you're really you again?" choked out Yamato, pulling away just enough to gaze up at him. He was wiping his eyes, as though trying to hide the bulk of his crying.

It seemed an innocent question, but it brought Enjyu back to the only time he hadn't been himself. He stared at Yamato with wide eyes, as the implications of his question settled into an uneasy realization.

"Was I...? Was it..." He lowered his voice, uncomfortable with even the thought. There were a great many things they'd talked about in the past, but this one thing had always been the most difficult topic to broach. "...Was Marda-B in my head again?"

Yamato winced, and Enjyu knew he'd asked the right question. He grimaced.

"Yes and no," said Yamato, picking himself off the ground. "It's...complicated, but let's get out of the dream before we even remotely try to process any of this, yeah?"

"Dream?" Enjyu took a moment to pull himself to his feet as well, leaning on the field where Lightning Kahn stood waiting for him. "Wait, Yamato, where are we? This can't really be the Winners' Dome, can it?"

"You're, um, dreaming," said Yamato. "It's a long story, but basically the dream picked out what it thinks is paradise for you."

He couldn't help a little laugh upon hearing this. "Well, it sure got it wrong if it thinks it's the WInners Tournament."

A grin suddenly split Yamato's expression, and he began to laugh aloud, a full and hearty sound that always made Enjyu's heart soar. Enjyu had a distinct feeling though that it seemed like Yamato hadn't laughed like this in a while, even if he could not be certain about it.

"So I'm dreaming, huh?" he said, looking around again at the arena. The indistinct crowds suddenly made more sense, with how they all simply blurred together as a great mass of colors even when he could hear them cheering. "You know, I'm pretty sure none of this makes sense, but—"

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato managed to suppress a sigh when Enjyu froze mid-sentence.

"What is it now? Shouldn't he be awake already?" he demanded without turning away from Enjyu.

"Your match isn't finished," came Liena's voice from behind him. "If you can recreate the end of this match as it was in reality...then Enjyu's dream shall finally come to an end."

"Okay," said Yamato. He took a moment to wipe his eyes. "Let's do this."

⚡️⚡️⚡️

"—we've been through weirder things and it sounds like you've got a better idea of the situation than me. What's the plan, Yamato?"

Yamato gestured toward the battlefield. "We have to re-enact our entire match to end the dream."

"That all?" Enjyu laughed despite himself, as he fondly recalled how the battle had gone. "That's baby stuff. C'mon, let's get to it."

"That's the Enjyu I know and love..." muttered Yamato, as they started toward their respective ends. Enjyu could sense there was something more to Yamato's words, but he found he didn't know what to make of it right now beyond the knowledge that he had been under control again.

They each moved toward their respective sides of the field amidst shouts of "Let them battle!" from the crowds. Enjyu grinned at Yamato as they both readied themselves. It seemed the dream was advancing even without either of them acting anything out, and they only had to be prepared to do their part.

Yamato suddenly looked down at Cobalt Blade, smiling to himself. "Thank you," he said, just loud enough for Enjyu to hear, "I didn't get to say it properly last time, but now I've got this chance. Goodbye, Cobalt Blade. I miss you, but your spirit will always live on."

The B-daman burst into flames, a flash fire that instantaneously burnt itself out, leaving behind the larger frame of Cobalt Saber.

Across from him, Enjyu blinked. Of course, the match wouldn't be the same if they were each still using their first B-daman. He looked down at Lightning Kahn as well. "You know, I didn't get a chance to say bye to you either..." He grinned, unable to hide the wistful look in his eyes as he addressed the little B-daman that had stood with him through his initial quest for power. "I'll never forget the day I took you from Armada. Best shopping trip with Ababa ever. See ya, Lightning Kahn."

Enjyu was, of course, never to be outdone. He gave himself only a moment to figure out how Yamato had transformed his B-daman, instinctively feeling for a seam in the dream. Purple fire erupted around the B-daman under his hands, before a bolt of lightning tore through the air from nowhere and struck it. When the smoke cleared, Blazing Kahn stood proudly in its place.

"Show off," grumbled Yamato, even as he readied himself to fire.

Enjyu only smirked at him, fingers between Blazing Kahn's spikes and thumb on its trigger.

_Ready... Set..._

_"And play on!"_

⚡️⚡️⚡️

The tournament came to an end with a clashing of their wills, and Enjyu watched as Yamato was immediately surrounded by his friends, each one reaching to hold him up from where he'd all but collapsed on the battlefield.

Enjyu couldn't help but smile to himself at the sight. Everything had been different back then, but Enjyu had always known Yamato drew his strength from those who loved him. He hadn't set out to count himself as one of those, but in the end...

Yamato was smiling back at him, a familiar expression on his face, one that promised he was safe and had nothing more to fear.

The noise of the crowd stopped abruptly, leaving a deafening silence that made Enjyu jolt in surprise. Everything had frozen in place, from the audience in the stands paused mid-cheer, to the little group around Yamato led by Gray and Terry. Was this what it meant for the dream to end?

"I don't know what I expected," said Yamato, sounding strangely calm. "C'mon, I think we're done here."

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Enjyu looked around as Yamato led him through the city, their soft footsteps over the dusty ground serving as the only noise in the vicinity. He grimaced, trying to make sense of the swirl of memories still going through his mind. He knew this was a dream now, and though Yamato said it had surely ended, the past few days had felt so...real.

They stopped at the end of a street, and gazed out into the wilderness together. Enjyu stepped closer, and took Yamato's hand.

"We should both be awake by now," said Yamato quietly. "Or at least, you should. Why are we still here?"

Enjyu turned to face him, stepping closer to give him a loose hug. "Maybe we're missing something?"

Yamato pulled away. "It's supposed to break when you realize you're dreaming, since it's your dream and all...That's what she said..."

"She?" Enjyu blinked, stepping close again. When Yamato looked up at him, it was with distress marked on every inch of his face.

"Enjyu...hey." Yamato's expression smoothed out into a big, familiar smile. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I love you."

"Love you too..." Enjyu blinked as he found the paper shoved into his hands. "Yamato, what's this?"

"Just read it as loud as you can, okay?" said Yamato, still smiling. He shook his head. "For some reason, I don't think we have much time, but that should make everything okay."

"Uh..." Enjyu began to unfold it, looking down to find a single word scribbled on it. He drew in a breath and said, loud as he could, "Selene! ...what's a Selene?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when he felt a great pressure all around him, then it was as though someone were pulling on his mind. Enjyu gasped, dropping the paper that swiftly dissolved into nothing before it even hit the ground. He heard a great rumbling as he fell to his knees and looked up to find Yamato watching him with a big smile undermined by the tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

Then, quite suddenly, everything dropped away.

🔥🔥🔥

Yamato turned his gaze away from where Enjyu had disappeared, looking up at the great dome and the city that surrounded it. That awe-inspiring structure had begun to crumble, and with it the city's buildings as well, all turning to dust and leaving behind a void lined with stars.

"Congratulations." Liena's figure stepped out from nothing, smiling at him as sweetly as ever. In the darkening world, Yamato found it a sinister look, and even when he offered her a glare, she kept on smiling. "This dream is yours now, Yamato. Every construct you made, every attribute you adjusted, every variable you introduced... Each action only gave you more and more control over the dream, and now you've supplanted Enjyu as the dreamer of this world entirely."

"Right," said Yamato, looking away from her, back to the crumbling world. This wasn't how he'd wanted things to go. He'd wanted to wake up together with Enjyu, to be done with this entire mess and to leave it behind them forever. But still...the important thing was that, after everything, Enjyu was free. "Not like that matters. I'm going to wake up too, soon enough."

She only stepped to her side, coming back into his line of sight with a stern gaze. "Are you? It seems to me there is something you desire still from the dream."

"No way, I—I don't," answered Yamato, even as his thoughts jumped to Mie and his parents.

"Hm," said the administrator, "It may be easy to lie to yourself, but the trial knows all. _I_ know all, and I also certainly know your heart. Isn't the truth simply that you are afraid of the reality of your past?"

Yamato said nothing, and she continued.

"You have never wanted for the truth." She raised her hands, and the world around them darkened to a void of black. "Mie gave you no reason to, and you have been content with her as your mother all these years...but now you've seen what could have been, and it scares you. It scares you because you want to know more now. Who was your father? Who was your mother? What were they like? Are they anything like the Rai and Mei you've dreamed into existence? Or are they...less kind in reality? What kind of people were they? And... _why did they abandon you?_ "

"Stop," said Yamato.

"As you wish," she answered, turning away. "Merely questions to consider when creating your dream."

Then she was gone, and Yamato was greeted with the bright blue sky and the dusty oranges of the wasteland he called home.

"C'mon Tommi," he said aloud, and the cat manifested beside him, perking up with eagerness. "Let's race."


	7. You Have But Slumbered Here VII - gentles, do not reprehend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some changes starting this chapter: this is no longer the end of the fic, but the end of an _arc_. As you may have noticed, I've changed the title of the fic to "the Disciples of Marda-B" to reflect this change. I've got a plot, and I'm going to put it all in one fic instead of spreading it out to a series this time.
> 
> Also, if you haven't been paying attention to the emoji used for scene dividers so far—better start doing that now.

_"Welcome, dreamer."_

_He blinked as he opened his eyes, looking around at the empty space around him. Gridlines ran out from where he stood, over a backdrop of distant stars. The voice, unidentifiable and nondescript, had spoken from somewhere above him and was unfamiliar to him._

_"What's going on?" said Enjyu, narrowing his eyes. The last thing he remembered was a wall blocking him off from Yamato and Tommi..._

_"Inquiry: status. You are currently in setup stage, dreamer."_

_"What the..." He had a feeling those words were meant to answer him, but they made little sense. He shook his head and yelled into the void instead. "I don't know who you are, but you better show yourself!"_

_There was a long, long silence, then— "Request for visual accepted. Scanning memory for suitable presentation."_

_And suddenly the void turned into a jumbled mess of imagery that Enjyu instantly recognized as moments from his own life. A multitude of voices rang out, mixing together into a horrendous cacophony. Memories floated to the forefront as voices rose or faded. He grit his teeth and yelled at it all to stop, stop it—and it was only a moment later that a curiously familiar figure appeared out of the void._

_"...Liena?" Enjyu gasped in surprise, staring up at her hovering there in her bright pink coat and scarf._

_She opened her eyes, and gazed down at him. When she spoke, the voice was decidedly Liena's, but there was something...also wrong about it that Enjyu couldn't quite place. "This form appears to bring you some comfort and happens to be suitable for me."_

_"Who are you?" he demanded._

_"I am the administrator," she answered, and Enjyu realized it was all wrong because the features on her face barely moved. She descended slowly, until her feet were firmly on the part of the void that served as the ground. "I am here to facilitate your trial and construct your dream..."_

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Enjyu gasped as he woke. He was only faintly aware of being surrounded by something red before, suddenly, he was falling.

He landed on the temple's stone floor with a thud and a groan.

"Ah, this is unexpected."

He looked up and found a masked figure standing there with Tommi resting on their shoulder. Enjyu was on his feet in moments, reaching behind him for Blazing Kahn. Though Tommi didn't seem to distrust this stranger, there was still something about them that he immediately disliked.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I am Selene," they answered, and Enjyu realized it was the eye engraved on her mask that was making him wary. "I am the one who pulled you out of your dream, but...I had thought it was Yamato who would call me."

"Yamato..." Enjyu frowned. "Where—where is he?"

They were silent in response, what little visible of their face tense as they slowly raised a hand and gestured at something behind him. Enjyu fought back against the rising dread in him, and turned around to find a large red orb. Yamato floated within, expression peaceful.

"Get him out of there," said Enjyu.

"I...I cannot."

He whirled around. "What do you mean 'you can't'? You got me out. Now get _him_ out too!"

They seemed to fold in on themself, hands clasped together and shrinking away from him, sending Tommi jumping down from their shoulder. The cat darted away toward the orb behind Enjyu.

"I am only a spirit," said Selene quietly, "I am not strong enough to do it again..."

"Then it is fortunate that _I_ am perfectly capable of it," said another voice from behind Enjyu.

And Enjyu turned around again as Selene looked up and gasped, and there stood Marda-B in his little hat and pristine white suit, feline features curled in amusement as he leant against the orb. Tommi sat in his arms, receiving steady pets.

"My dear Selene," he said despite the shocked silence, "It appears you need my help."

⚡️⚡️⚡️

"Tsk," said Marda-B as he touched the orb with one gloved hand. Once Selene had calmed down, once Enjyu had managed to pry Tommi away from him, Marda-B got to work. "I should have expected Yamato would be involved...ah, I should have expected you too, Enjyu."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Enjyu was still getting over the shock of seeing Marda-B again, he had to admit, but in light of the bizarreness of _everything_ that had happened in the temple, Marda-B's reappearance didn't seem too bad.

"I felt a sliver of myself return to me," answered Marda-B. He had his hand flat on the orb's surface, and was moving it about as he clearly searched for something. "Though Yamato restored me to completion, there are shards of my soul that linger in the rare few whose minds I completely claimed. These are mere shards that can do no harm now that they lie dormant...unless, of course, you were to come into contact with the devices I built. Hm...where is it?"

"Okay, _some_ of that made sense," said Enjyu.

"There's little need to worry about it," said Marda-B with a chuckle. He reached down, toward the bottom of the orb. "The point is this: I should not have been surprised to find you and Yamato were involved when I felt that shard of myself return. Ah, here we are."

He pressed his hand into the orb, a crackling sound filling the air. Enjyu was no magic user himself, but the waves of pressure that emanated from Marda-B were not unfamiliar and reminded him of Ababa and Biarce both. Well, since Marda-B had been their master...

The red of the orb began to clear, growing into a faint blue from where Marda-B's powers touched it. When the entire orb had changed, Enjyu let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He glanced at Marda-B and, upon receiving a nod, stepped toward the orb.

Yamato slumbered on.

"Was that supposed to wake him up?" he asked.

Marda-B frowned. "Ah..."

"What is it?" said Selene, off to the side.

"Yamato appears to have left a message for me," said Marda-B. He shook his head, tail turning. "It seems I shall have to retrieve him myself."

👁

The wasteland Marda-B materialized over was a familiar place, with its sandy plains that stretched onward to the horizon dotted by rocky formations that reached up to the sky. The sun was setting low in the sky and turning that vast expanse into a field burning a constant bright cinnabar as Marda-B allowed himself to fall to that field as a feather gently alighting upon the dusty ground, using his cane to soften his landing.

"Administrator," he called out.

"Master Marda-B, welcome back."

The form the administrator took was one Marda-B recognized immediately, and he supposed it was a turn of events he should have expected. Her crown of hair like spun gold barely came up to his waist, and she had to take a brisk stride to match his as he started toward the lone building in the distance.

"You have served well all these years, my dear," he said aloud for her. He hovered as he marched onward, just enough to avoid kicking up clouds and dust the way the administrator did. Dreams and trials had rules, but Marda-B cared little for them. He was not merely the administrator's master, after all, but a conqueror deigning to visit the lowly he had subjugated.

"Master, if I may, why have you returned after abandoning us all this time?" asked the administrator, giving Marda-B pause. He turned and regarded her, this half-creation of his wearing one of the Shadow Alliance's agents' face and voice—and in the process of wearing the child's guise, she'd regained her inquisitive, independent mind.

"I sensed a great surge of B-daspirit," Marda-B answered truthfully. "A sliver of my soul returned to me, but more important than that, I sensed the creation of a B-energy before it immediately dissipated, and so I came to investigate."

"Yamato," supplied the administrator.

"Indeed." He started his hovering saunter toward the cat-shaped building once more, its placid expression welcoming him to the imaginary kingdom that now belonged to the boy in question. Rock formations around it cast long shadows that crept across the brick feline's body, as if trapping it in place. "Administrator, I shall free you after this."

"What?"

The surprise in her voice was so vivid that Marda-B wondered if she had forgotten she had once been a person.

The Cat Cafe loomed immediately before them, and Marda-B cast away his stray thoughts to focus on the matter at hand. "Locate him," he ordered.

"On the rooftop."

"Leave us," Marda-B stated, gazing up at the cafe exterior. He sensed the administrator take her exit and took that as his cue. This was not his dream and this was not his domain, but Marda-B had determined this could not continue. He rose up toward the cafe's roof with a swift kick off the ground, and landed just as gracefully as he'd taken off.

Yamato sat there, watching the sunset.

"Hello, Yamato," said Marda-B. "I received your message." His words seemed to have no effect on Yamato, nor did the boy acknowledge his presence at all. Unperturbed, Marda-B strode over and simply invited himself to join Yamato. He set his cane down nearby and carefully sat by the boy, crossing his legs like him. Perhaps he was handling this a little more delicately than he tended to act, but...Marda-B supposed doing otherwise would only be insulting to the ordeal he suspected Yamato had just gone through.

"Huh?" Yamato blinked, startling as if he only just realized he was no longer alone. He turned and tilted his head, gazing back at Marda-B with his typical intensity in his bright blue eyes. "Marda-B...you're real, aren't you?"

"Correct," answered Marda-B, noting how unusual it was that Yamato, in so short a time, had grasped how to identify what was real and what was not within the dream. "The answer is no, Yamato, you cannot have 'five more minutes."

"Aw, it was worth a try," said Yamato. He sounded curiously calm, and Marda-B had to wonder precisely what the trial had put him and Enjyu through, even if he could make a fairly good guess.

Was that...? Yes, it was indeed guilt gnawing at him, a no longer familiar sensation that bore into his heart and, most terrifyingly, was sending his mind down a path of dark memories related to all he had done when he'd played the role of villain. Marda-B grimaced, regarding the child—really, a young man at this point—sitting by him with uncertainty.

Yamato did always know how to make the impossible happen, and Marda-B supposed he could now cross 'make an ancient sage feel guilty' off a list somewhere.

"Enjyu is waiting for you," he said gently, focusing on the task at hand instead. "I could terminate...end your dream right now, but I would prefer if you were cooperative first."

Yamato was giving him a morose look. "What about...what about the people here?"

"The people?" Marda-B blinked, and suddenly he became aware of the sound of merriment and celebration happening somewhere beneath them. From within the cafe wafted the voices of multiple individuals, and...Marda-B supposed that if one didn't know better, it was difficult to determine construct from reality.

"What happens to them when the dream ends?" asked Yamato.

"They are not real, Yamato," said Marda-B. This was no time for honeyed words. "They are merely constructs, created from yours—and Enjyu's—memories and feelings."

"I know that." Yamato bit his lip, looking even _more_ morose. "But...But they feel real. They're just like—they're just like regular people. People I know..."

"No, they are not," said Marda-B, and the harshness of his tone this time earned him Yamato looking up at him sharply. Their gazes met, and Marda-B knew he would have to play villain again in this moment. "They are merely lines of data and code, created from blueprints stolen from you and Enjyu. They may show you emotion, but they do not feel. They may speak and express ideas, but only what you expect them to say. They are not real, Yamato. They will disappear when the dream ends, but it is not death for them, simply the end of their role here as they return to your memories."

"What about Liena?" asked Yamato.

It took Marda-B a moment to register how desperate Yamato sounded now, and a moment longer to realize he meant the administrator. "Oh, she will be unaffected by the dream's end. In fact, the dream must end for me to free her. There are no loopholes to this Yamato. The constructs are not real. They do not feel, they do not think. Perhaps with time they might have, but you haven't been in here long enough for anything like that to start. When you stop dreaming, they will simply follow you out."

And Yamato fell silent.

Marda-B turned his gaze away, giving him some space to think and accept the truth. He settled for watching the sun setting in the distance, and he blinked as he realized the sun was not moving. He could not help the wry smile that came to his face. Was this truly Yamato's paradise? The wasteland of his home with the sun suspended on the horizon perpetually, while all who loved him sang and danced and cheered?

It was only when Yamato broke the silence again that everything became clear for Marda-B.

"Um...what about my real parents?"

Those words had Marda-B sitting up in attention. Yamato's tale was well-known to him, a history reported to him by Ababa: the child had been raised by feral cats, the lowliest of their kind until a human woman chanced upon him. No one, it seemed, had ever questioned where the baby had come from, not even Yamato himself.

"What of them?" asked Marda-B, though he suspected he knew why he was being asked this. From somewhere below, someone shouted something undiscernable, followed quickly by more shouts that turned into another cheer.

"They're here," said Yamato, "But I've never met them and Enjyu hasn't either...how can they be here and feel so real? Did I just make them up without realizing it?"

Marda-B shook his head. "The trial cannot construct anyone you have no memory of."

"Then—"

"That is not to say it is accurate to reality," continued Marda-B. "Whoever your parents are here, they came from you and that brings with it all your biases and beliefs. But if you wish to find them in reality, then perhaps start with what you've learned of them here."

"What if I don't find them?" whispered Yamato, eyes wide.

Marda-B knew well enough what it was like to fear questions with no answers, and he had to admit that he had very little in the way of answers for Yamato. He looked over to the frozen sun, its rays dancing for release. Perhaps because he needed a moment to put together his thoughts, he gently probed out at the horizon with his mind. There was little resistance as he impressed upon the world his will, pushing time onward ever so slightly. Light shifted as the sun began to descend properly once more.

"It is a risk you must take, Yamato," he said. "I know that it is scary to face the unknown and accept that, but..." He offered up a wry smile. "That fear is what led me to chase immortality. I daresay it was a lesson I needed to learn, and one that I can impart upon you now before you make this mistake. Do not stay here, Yamato. It is tempting, I know, to stay in a dream that answers your every whim, but..."

"...But I've always challenged the unknown," said Yamato, rubbing his eyes and blinking. He drew in a breath, and clambered up to his feet, prompting Marda-B to the same. Yamato shook his head. "I don't know what came over me there."

Marda-B looked down at him, noting how much taller he'd gotten since they last saw each other. Yes, Yamato was growing into a fine young man worthy of _his_ legacy.

It was growing dark now, as the only light left consisted of what sunlight remained in the clouds. Marda-B reached out to gently place a hand on Yamato's shoulder. "Do you wish to see them one last time?"

The boy breathed in, as if considering it, but in the end he shook his head. "It's better if I don't."

Marda-B hadn't known what answer to expect, but that certainly felt like the correct one. He nodded, and, hand still on Yamato's shoulder, reached out with his mind to everything around them.

The laughter coming from below fell quiet, and the world crumbled as Marda-B took hold of it. The world shifted rapidly, as the already darkening sky turned into a field of stars, and the rooftop they were standing on turned into a stone ruin.

"Hey, this is where we battled," said Yamato, already peering around at everything.

"Yes, it is a memory of another time," he answered. "Now then, Yamato, I believe it is time for you to wake up."

And with a gentle push from Marda-B, Yamato woke up.

🔥🔥🔥

A pair of strong arms were instantly around him, even as Yamato was still groggily blinking himself awake. Right away, he recognized the feel of Enjyu's hold, and coupled with the sound of Enjyu's voice calling him...

The world came into focus.

He was sitting on the temple floor, Enjyu practically wrapped around him. Tommi leapt into his arms, and Yamato couldn't help but laugh.

"She—Selene explained it all to me," said Enjyu as he detached himself from Yamato. The older boy rose from his crouch to help him to his feet. "You big dummy. Who gave you the right to jump into a mysterious orb to try and save me?"

"Heh." Yamato grinned at him, taking a moment to find his footing. "I'll keep that in mind the next time you're in trouble." It was easy to fall back into bantering with each other despite what they'd just gone through, especially when they had an audience.

Enjyu opened his mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by Marda-B landing gracefully on his feet beside Yamato.

"That takes care of that," said the cat. He glanced down at the two of them, and smiled. "We've a matter or two to discuss, but if you'll allow me just a moment..."

Marda-B turned to face the orb, now pulsing faintly. Yamato thought its red seemed...less angry than before. It was even welcoming, perhaps, but Yamato did not have much more time to dwell on its color when the orb suddenly turned a pleasant blue.

Marda-B set one outstretched hand upon it, and it shattered. The pieces quickly dissipated into nothing, leaving only a sparkling shower of light.

"What's that?" cried out Yamato as he noticed something curious forming where the orb had been. Wisps of gold grew out of nothing, coalescing together and then—without warning—they rushed toward him—

Tommi leapt away. Yamato ducked, feeling Enjyu do the same nearby, just as the golden mystery flew past them both and struck Selene where she stood.

"It is done," said Marda-B.

Selene did not move, did not falter, and Yamato watched with wide eyes as her mask slipped right off her, shattering into light as well when it hit the ground. The face that peered back at them with bright jade eyes was familiar, and when she reached up and lowered her hood, golden hair spilled out over her shoulders.

"Woah, this is weird," muttered Enjyu.

Yamato was inclined to agree, as soon as he realized why Selene was so familiar. She was much older, there was no doubt about that, but everything about her features was so strikingly like Liena. Yamato drew in a breath, trying to make sense of it.

Marda-B pushed past him and Enjyu, rushing to Selene. He took her hands. "My dear Selene, are you...?"

Selene smiled, and a soft laugh escaped her as she nodded. "Lord Marda-B, I am whole again."

Yamato didn't bother holding back his gasp. "The administrator was a part of you!"

"Indeed," she said, turning to him, warmth and fondness plain in her eyes. "My soul was split in half, much like Lord Marda-B's, and he used one half to create the trial."

"That's—isn't that kind of messed up?" blurted out Enjyu.

Marda-B and Selene looked at each other, blinking. "I suppose it was," admitted Marda-B. He turned to them, bowing his head. "I wronged many a person in both life and death. Not the least of which were the two of you, especially you, Enjyu. Alas, I am ashamed to say I am not ready to talk about this any more."

An uneasy silence settled over the room. For a moment, Yamato had thought Marda-B was about to apologize directly to Enjyu, but he supposed even ancient heroes would have their...issues.

"Uh," was all Enjyu managed before Selene intervened.

"I think," she said, "The boys are as sick of this temple as I am, and I'm the one who has been here for a thousand years."

"Ah! Of course!" exclaimed Marda-B a little too quickly perhaps. He stepped forward, between them all. "Come, let us take the easy way out of here. You too, Tommi, come closer now."

The cat in question came bounding over, and Yamato realized he hadn't even noticed Tommi leaving his hold. What happened next happened all too quickly, as Marda-B lifted his cane—light surrounded them all, and the next thing Yamato knew—

🔥🔥🔥

—they were outside, standing on the steps leading up to the temple. Yamato steadied himself easily with his reflexes, catching Enjyu by the wrist and helping him stay on his feet. He drew in a breath, taking in the fresh air outside the temple, wondering how long they'd been trapped. Tommi naturally landed on his feet as well, instantly running down the steps. As for the two spirits with them...

Marda-B landed gracefully, boots barely touching the ground. Selene merely hovered nearby, her eyes wide as she took in the world outside the temple and what had turned out to be a prison for a thousand years.

"A little warning, next time?" grumbled Enjyu, though he looked just as pleased to no longer be in the temple..

"I suppose I'm out of practice, precision-wise," admitted Marda-B. "Well, that's settled then! You're both free to go, as is Selene. Now, my dear, shall we?"

With those words, he turned to Selene, who nodded and smiled. All at once, neither seemed interested in continuing to address either Yamato or Enjyu.

"I hear there is a resort on the other side of the island," said Selene, turning , "I should like to go and enjoy it..."

"Yes, yes," said Marda-B, hastily moving to take her by the arm, "And afterwards we should have a battle. The B-daMage has quite the set up of battlefields."

And to Yamato's chagrin, Marda-B and Selene immediately began to hover away.

"Hold it," he said, and they froze in place. "Is that really it? You're just going to leave now? Didn't you say we had something to discuss?"

When Marda-B turned to face him, Yamato was sure he spotted reluctance in the cat's movement.

"Yamato," said Marda-B, "I must confess I am not ready to confront everything my actions brought to either of you."

"I don't care about that," said Yamato, earning surprised looks from everyone around. At Enjyu's darkening expression, he added, "Not right now at least. Look, Marda-B, everyone needs time and space to get over things. You need to apologize to Enjyu and our other friends one day but that doesn't have to be right now."

"I...see." Marda-B set his hands upon his cane, a most thoughtful look on face now.

"What I want to know," continued Yamato, "Is if there's anything else as dangerous as this trial that you left in the B-daworld, and how we can stop them."

It wasn't what any of them were expecting, Yamato could tell, but after his time in the trial orb, he never wanted anything like it to happen to anyone again. Maybe he was tired of dealing with Marda-B's messes, but if he had to trigger every trap the ancient hero had left behind to make sure no one else did...then he was fine playing hero again.

That was what a real champion did after all.

"Very well," said Marda-B after a long, long moment. "There is indeed...something."

"Your three legendary B-daman," interrupted Selene. When Marda-B shot her a look, she shrugged. "Marda-B developed three very particular B-daman, gave one each to three of our friends, and then sent them on their way."

Enjyu had been unusually quiet this entire time, but out of the corner of his eye, Yamato could see him perking up at Selene's words. "Legendary B-daman?" he demanded, "Like, really powerful ones?"

"Very powerful, yes." Excitement was returning to Marda-B's eyes. "Unfortunately, I do not know where they've been hidden. Fortunately, I know someone who does. Another spirit like Selene."

"Where?" demanded Yamato.

"The temple beneath Neon City," said Marda-B, smiling rather eagerly now. "She would know, oh yes. Hm, yes, _she_ definitely would."

"Okay, that spooky temple under Neon City where you used to be trapped in a statue?" asked Yamato, wanting to be sure. There weren't any other temples under Neon City, as far as he knew, but you never knew when it came to Meowlantis.

"The very same," said Marda-B. He stepped back, gesturing dramatically and throwing his hands in the air. "The guardian of the temple will know the locations of the legendary three!"

Selene politely clapped. Enjyu choked on something. Yamato tried very hard to take it all in stride. "Got it," he said. He'd always suspected Marda-B had a flair for the theatrical.

"Oh, if you'll be visiting our friends," said Selene, expression solemn, "Might you stop by Tsubakura City as well? The one I love, well...that is where his spirit was bound. Could you perhaps...free him too?"

If Selene noticed Marda-B wincing in response to her words, she said nothing, but Yamato took note of it quietly. He nodded anyway, despite suspicion about Marda-B's reaction settling in his gut. This unfortunate lover of hers was the entire reason she'd allowed him to enter Enjyu's dream. If not for that, maybe he would still be sitting on the floor in the temple, in front of an intact red orb, waiting endlessly for his trapped boyfriend to wake up.

"I'll find him," said Yamato. He felt Enjyu's hand rest on his shoulder.

Selene's smile was bright and wide. "Thank you, Yamato."

"I, too, have a personal request," said Marda-B, quietly once more. "I have long sensed that...Biarce may be alive after all."

Yamato felt everything go cold. Enjyu's grip on his shoulder tightened, not painfully, but enough. Yamato reached up to rest his hand on Enjyu's in response.

"What?" was all he managed to say.

"I have been searching for him," admitted Marda-B, and there was the remorseful look that Yamato had secretly hoped to see. "To no avail. I understand neither of you may wish to see him again, but I shall make this a personal request. Should you chance upon him in your travels...do be kind to him. He truly was only a child who did terrible things by my command. I never gave him a choice."

A curious tightness settled in Yamato's throat. Biarce haunted his dreams and nightmares. A constant question of what could have been had plagued him since the day he defeated Marda-Biarce, one with no possible answer. But now—here was _maybe_ a chance for one. But even so—he'd faced down the Biarce of Enjyu's subconscious making, so why did was he suddenly terrified of the thought of seeing the real Biarce again?

Enjyu's grip on his shoulder loosened ever so slightly, and his voice cut through the silence where Yamato's could not. "We'll find him," he said.

Yamato didn't trust himself to speak. so he simply nodded. This seemed to be good enough for Marda-B, as he nodded back and smiled again, stepping back to Selene's side.

"That settles that then," he said, somehow managing to look both satisfied and miserable at the same time. "You have your options for a new adventure. Selene has her freedom. I—I have my sins to think about. I imagine this is not the last time we shall see each other, but I am hopeful I will not be rescuing anyone again next time. Come, Selene."

This time, he gave them no chance to stop him. Marda-B took Selene by the hand, and the two floated off rapidly. Selene waved to them cheerfully, even as Marda-B pulled her away.

And Yamato watched them quietly, Enjyu's hand on his shoulder, and sensing the older boy was inching closer to him. He was—exhausted, for real this time. He had a lot to think about, but what he really wanted was to flop over onto the large and comfortable bed with Enjyu back in their hotel room.

"I dunno about you," said Enjyu, hand dropping away to tug on Yamato's sleeve, "But all I want right now is to get back to our hotel room and lie down for real."

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Sleep, that night, was thankfully dreamless.

In the morning, they walked down together to the hotel's extensive gardens, artfully dodging the manager and his million questions about why they had disappeared for what had turned out to be just over fourteen hours. They would find breakfast waiting for them on the patio when they were ready, but for now, Enjyu found that Yamato seemed to share his feelings of wanting a lot of peace and quiet to process everything that had happened.

"So...there's ships back to the mainland today, right?" asked Enjyu, breaking the silence of the gardens for the first time. They wandered past an extravagnt fountain. "'Cause I'm pretty through with this island."

It took Yamato a moment to answer. "Yeah, we're off the island by lunch."

And they fell back into a comfortable silence. Enjyu took Yamato's hand as they walked, a gesture he seemed to appreciate.

"Enjyu," said Yamato after a long moment. "I'm gonna do. it I'll go to Tsubakura and find Selene's boyfriend, and then I'm going to Neon City."

"I'm not surprised," said Enjyu truthfully. He knew Yamato better than anyone, and turning away from adventure was never going to be an easy task for him. "I was hoping we'd get back to Cowtoon before we head to Tsubakura City, but it's your call."

"Wait, 'we?'"

Enjyu snorted. "You didn't think you were going to do this alone, did you? Besides, there's at least legendary B-daman at the end of this."

"You know what," said Yamato, "I'm not even surprised that's why you'd want to come along. Okay, that's settled then."

And once more, that silence.

"Oh, by the way, Yamato," said Enjyu as they sitting down for breakfast at the end of their walk.

"Yeah?" asked Yamato, reaching for the basket of bread.

"What the heck was that kiss?"

"Wh-what?" The surprise and uncertainty on Yamato's face was precisely why he asked, Enjyu decided.

"In the dream. On the rooftop. Remember?" Enjyu grinned, watching Yamato turn a bright red. "C'mon, I know you kiss better than whatever that was. Even our actual first kiss was pretty hot."

"E-Enjyu!" Yamato dropped a roll of bread onto his plate with a clatter. "Come on, we were kids again in there."

"Yeah, and we're back to normal now." Enjyu smirked. "Which means...we can get up to continuing what we started the other night—"

" _Enjyu!_ "

* * *

❓❓❓

_Power settled in his hands, leaving a tingling sensation. He breathed in deep. This was the first time he'd successfully fired a shot like that. A shot fueled by something that had come from within him, strong enough to break barriers he normally could not._

_Power. He'd learned how to harness it. That left five more skills to train, and he had no intention of slacking._

_The whole of the B-daworld was waiting for him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...onward, to Tsubakura City and Neon City in the next arc! c:


End file.
